OUR FATHER DID NOT DIE OF COVID 19

WHY DOES THE DEATH CERTIFICATE SAY HE DID?

 

Published: 1st December 2020

Until early November, our 97 year old father, who was frail, had poor mobility and was confused, was living at home with his 93 year old wife, our mother. Carers attended him every morning to wash and dress him.

Following a fall at the beginning of October, he was admitted to Watford General Hospital with a high temperature and high blood pressure. He was catheterised, given antibiotics and tested for Covid 19 with a negative result. After a week in hospital and rallying somewhat, he was transferred to Verulam House Nursing Home, in St Albans as he was now too frail to be cared for at home by his wife. He was tested for Covid, again, with negative results.

After a couple of weeks at Verulam House, he became very unwell, vomiting dark vomit. He was admitted to Watford General Hospital on Monday 9 November. He was tested for Covid, again, with a negative result.

His wife was informed that he was very ill indeed with various issues: Kidney failure (for which he was put on fluids), a possible thrombosis in the lung (a CT scan showed this not to be the case), dark coloured vomit indicating bleeding into the stomach, fluid in the lungs (from the fluid he was being given for his kidneys) and very confused. He was taken off the fluids as there was concern this could cause a chest infection. His wife was given the impression that he was not expected to survive and that care would soon become palliative. His condition deteriorated: He was having difficulty in swallowing and was becoming chesty and short of breath. His wife was informed on 18 November he had just tested positive for Covid 19, however, she could visit him to say her goodbyes, which she did. He died the following morning, Thursday 19 November, at 7am.

His grieving family is shocked and upset to learn that, given his age and the many serious underlying illnesses for which he was admitted to hospital, the primary cause of death on the Death Certificate is given as Covid 19. We would have expected the primary cause of death to have been broncho pneumonia due to old age. We knew we would have to accept that he was going to become one of the statistics “who had died within 28 days of a positive Covid test”not that he had actually died of it. We are interested to understand why he was given a Covid test just as he was about to die. A good percentage of PCR tests are false positives and we will never know if he really did have Covid.
Placeholder image

We understand there are very many grieving relatives around the country who are expressing their shock, upset and dismay that Covid 19 has been given as the primary cause of death of their loved ones, who have suffered other deadly illnesses which they believe were the primary cause of death. Some have not even had a positive PCR test.

We have now read The Guidance for doctors completing Medical Cerfificates of Cause of Death in England and Wales – FOR USE DURING THE EMERGENCY PERIOD ONLY

We assume the following section relates to why Doctors are so readily recording Covid 19 as the primary cause of death:

"Medical practitioners are required to certify causes of death “to the best of their knowledge and belief”. Without diagnostic proof, if appropriate and to avoid delay, medical practitioners can circle ‘2’ in the MCCD (“information from post-mortem may be available later”) or tick Box B on the reverse of the MCCD for ante-mortem investigations. For example, if before death the patient had symptoms typical of COVID- 19 infection, but the test result has not been received, it would be satisfactory to give ‘COVID-19’ as the cause of death, tick Box B and then share the test result when it becomes available. In the circumstances of there being no swab, it is satisfactory to apply clinical judgement."

And, the Government has removed Form 5 from the Cremation Certificate for deaths relating to Covid-19 under the Coronavirus Act, which is the form that the relative who registers the death must be given as it enables them to see and query the death certificate before cremation so if our loved one dies of or with Covid19 they can have their death certified and cremation certified by the same medical practitioner and sent for cremation within hours and the Government had removed our right to see or query that decision before the cremation takes place, which in turn removes our right to request a coroner’s report or second opinion.

Every evening the Government announces the numbers of deaths due to Covid 19. How can they be trusted to be accurate when Doctors are not required to have seen the patient, are allowed to just “think” someone has died of Covid 19 and to ignore all underlying critical illnesses? I understand that Doctors are even permitted to state Covid 19 as a primary cause of death on the opinion of non-medical care professionals.

Our family members do not believe, and never will, that our father’s primary cause of death was Covid 19. It is an insult to his memory to push back all the other serious illnesses he endured and his old age, which we know were the cause of his death.

Is no one in this country now allowed to die of anything other than Covid? If so, why? What’s going on here?