AN 82-year-old blind grandfather, who has dementia, has been left with nowhere to live in the mouth of Christmas after Drumclay Nursing Home shut its doors today [Wednesday].
Eamon McGullion’s family have been battling to secure a place for their father in a local nursing home since it was announced Drumclay was to close three months ago, but at the 11th hour yesterday they were left high-and-dry. Having been told a place had been secured at the Graan Nursing Home, which would’ve meant the Monea family could visit him regularly, they were told yesterday afternoon the place was no longer available.
Last night Neil McGullion took to social media to highlight his father’s plight, and his post has since been shared hundreds of times.
“From midday tomorrow the last resident in Drumclay Nursing Home my dad has no where to live,” he wrote on Tuesday night. “He will be homeless at 82-years-old, he is blind and it’s Christmas. Please share if you have a heart and think this is wrong, the Trust need to sort out care for the elderly in Fermanagh they have had three months and yet he has no where to call his home.”
Neil’s post has since been shared over 600 times.
Speaking to the Herald today, Neil said he felt compelled to highlight what was happening.
“I just got to the stage where my frustration of yesterday got to boiling point,” he said. “I’ve been fighting this since September 12th when it was announced the home was set for closure.
“The straw that broke the camels back was that yesterday afternoon at half-past-two we were told no, the Graan was not going to be accepting Eamon. We were told the only option was Greenmount in Derry. We said absolutely no way. Then they said, there was also Omagh. We said no. My mum doesn’t drive, my sister doesn’t drive, and my other brother doesn’t drive. For visiting over Christmas, sending him to Omagh is just not an option. They came back at half-past-five and said they’d freed up a bed in SWAH.”
It now looks likely Mr McGullion will spend Christmas in SWAH, despite not being sick.
Neil added the family would love to be able to bring their father home but, given his needs, that just wouldn’t be possible as they didn’t have the facilities at home to ensure he would be safe.
The closure of Drumclay Nursing Home comes at a time of growing crisis in the nursing home sector in Fermanagh, following the closure of Ashbrooke Nursing Home last year. Last week the Western Trust told the Herald it was working with Drumclay to ensure alternative placements were found for all patients.
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