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Ruthie Henshall’s mother Gloria has died at the age of 87 after living the last years of her life in a care home during the global pandemic.
The I’m a Celeb star, 54, confirmed the news on Twitter on Tuesday afternoon just over a week after she passed away, sharing the damaging effects the national lockdown had on her mother’s health.
In a lengthy post on Instagram, Ruthie slammed the government for their strict Covid guidelines which prevented her and her sisters from spending any quality time with their mother before she died.
The mother of two wrote: “My beautiful mummy Gloria passed away very peacefully early this morning, I managed to care for her for a few short weeks. It was my honour and my privilege.
“If the government had made their guidance law my sisters would have seen her more than a couple of times before losing her.
“Even recently my sister susan was doing window visits because she wasn’t able to get an indoor visit for 3 weeks.”
Ruthie has been fighting for the Covid restrictions to be eased in the UK for care home residents after she started to see a rapid decline in her mother’s health since the restrictions were put in place.
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The grieving musical theatre legend argued it was “utterly inhumane” to restrict elderly patients more than the already were and shared how her sisters only got two indoor interactions with their mother before she died.
“Spring lodge, the care home my mother was in followed the guidance but still there are care home providers and managers that are not. It remains a post code lottery.
“My sister susan is angry and devastated that she only got 2 indoor visits before my mother died.
“This was completely and totally unecassary. Utterly inhumane to these beautiful residents who are not really living much of a life.
“Still socially distanced as much as possible during the day and unable to have anything like meaningful visits with loved ones.”
In the final weeks leading up to her death, Ruthie shared some of her most meaningful mother daughter moments they shared together as she took care of her loving mother in the comfort of her own home.
She added: “I was Gloria’s essential care giver for her last weeks. I read to her, sag to her, cuddled her, fed her, massaged her hands and feet and told her I loved her at least 20 times a visit.
“Each time I hugged her she maned with delight. That’s all she had left was touch. She couldn’t' walk, talk or eat solid food.
“Just one essential care giver by law to every resident would give unlimited joy, love and peace of mind and take a huge strain off the brilliant carers who get paid mostly minimum wage.”
This comes after the actress joined the campaign group Rights For Residents which aims to put pressure on the Government to make visits to care homes a legal right after she found many others struggling to visit loved ones during the UK lockdown.
From Tuesday, all care residents in the UK will be allowed to go on outdoor trips with friends and family without the need to self-isolate after their visit.
She finished her emotional post asking those in charge whether keeping these restricts was worth it to “keep out love and hope.”
She concluded: “Shame on every government official and care home provider that decided to ignore resident’s human right just Baton down the hatches.
“You kept out love and hope. I am devastated. I hope it was worth the cost to keep them behind locked doors? #gloriaslaw #gloriahenshall #rightsforresidents”
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