As the sister of someone currently living in a UK care home, I wanted to lay out a few #COVID19 worries. My sister is severely disabled, and was hospitalised with pneumonia last year. She is currently in a 'locked down' care home.

1) It's thought likely that she would not be offered an ITU bed, or, in fact, any bed in hospital if she gets Covid. Lots of leaked documents support that fact. And yet there seems to be no guidance about what care she should have instead. 2) Her care staff do not have proper PPE

3) Her care staff are not trained nurses (obviously) and yet it seems they would be required to attend to her if she was poorly.
4) The GP surgery have said they would not be able to send a doctor or a nurse to help the carers if she was sick. Phone or vid calls only.

5) So - what end of life care / other treatment could my sister and others like her expect? I have no idea. Would they get her oxygen? Antibiotics? Morphine?
6) If my parents decided to bring her home instead of keeping her there (which I would support) they would most likely

catch it too. They are both over 70, and my Dad has diabetes. No-one would come to help them, as far as I understand it. So then both my parents and my sister could potentially have Covid, and be very very sick, stuck at home with no help. This possibility keeps me awake at night

What would I do? Most likely, leave my kids and my husband and go to try to help them all. But if there was a proper plan for care of our vulnerable in care homes, with proper shielding and PPE, this scenario might not come to pass. I pray a plan is put in place, and people like

my lovely sister, Clare (who is only 39), are not forgotten. #disability #Rettsyndrome @bbclaurak #carehomes @BBCHughPym