MP Dan Carden tells of fight to see his dying father

A Labour MP has told of the heart-breaking weeks before the death of his father, as he and his family battled with a hospital to see him.

Dan Carden opened a backbench business debate on guaranteeing the right to maintain contact in care settings.

The MP for Liverpool Walton shared his experience of "the anguish, the pain and distress of not knowing when you will next see your loved one".

He told MPs how his father died from lung cancer last year.

The MP said: "Like many people undergoing cancer treatment, one evening he suddenly became unresponsive and we had to rush him to A&E at the hospital."

He added: "It was confirmed that he had sepsis and he was therefore isolated in a side room on the A&E ward, which was overrun with patients on beds and trolleys in the corridor.

"My dad was in the A&E side room for three days, during which time he didn't receive any hot food, he wasn't showered or washed nor assisted in changing his clothes, and he was unable to get help to go to the toilet.

"And throughout this time, he had no means of contacting us because there was no phone signal where he was."

The Labour MP quoted his mother who said: "The trauma of my husband's death, and in particular the neglect he experienced in his final weeks of life, remain with me."

Mr Carden said: "This problem is not exclusive to the coronavirus pandemic. There are still rigid restrictions on visiting as well as shocking instances of denying contact."

Health minister Helen Whately told MPs she did not consider the "status quo acceptable", adding, "I am on the case".

She said: "We cannot continue to have this situation with families and friends struggling to see loved ones in care homes.

"That's why I have already commissioned work today, my first commission since my appointment, on the steps that I can take to sort this out."

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