‘I have not sat in the same room as my wife since March 2020’

When asked what has improved for him since the start of lockdown in 2020, he says: “It hasn’t improved.

“I am just coming in from another visit at the window with my wife.

“We have been locked down 338 days so we are almost coming up to a year.

“The problem is that whilst there has been instructions issued for nursing homes in England, nothing has been issued in Northern Ireland.

“And we have had so many false dawns, and disappointments, that all we can do now is hope.

“The problem here is that the Chief Medical Officer in England will announce something and everyone over here will think that applies to here, but it does not.

“It is based on the decision of the Chief Medical Officer here.”

Read - Heartbroken DUMP MLA Jim Wells reveals concern for beloved wife Grace in NI nursing home after strokes rob her of mobility - ‘I do worry about the legacy of all this because no-one can be locked away for 200 days without consequences’

Mr Wells added that he was “not sure” if there had been any changes in other homes, “but there certainly wasn’t in Graces home”.

“I would like it to be tested for Covid-19 and then be able to sit with my wife in her room - that would be the first time since March 2020,” he said.

“My wife would technically be in a Care Home rather than a Residential Home.

“There is nothing positive yet. I have got my hopes built up and then it comes to nothing. Once every three weeks you are entitled to a visit to what is called pod. That means going to a room with a Perspex screen where Grace and I see each other. But then there is a nurse standing beside Grace the entire time.

“You can’t say anything really in front of staff.

“It is better at a window when it is open a little. I was able to stand and chat away today. But we take the meetings every three weeks because if you don’t take it you lose it.”

Mr Wells praised the rollout of the vaccines throughout NI adding that the drop in the infection rate is “very encouraging”.

“We would like to think we are on the home straight now,” he said.

“Thank goodness Grace is on the ground floor because I don’t know what we would have done if she was upstairs.

“She will see our grandchildren today and it does help that we can do that.

“But she has missed so much - the birth of her fifth grandchild, so many birthday’s, celebrations, baptisms, marriages and announcements.

“It was where we were and there was nothing we could do about it, but I am more concerned about her emotions after all this time.

“When she does get out we will have to put the boat out as far as we can and have one massive celebration.

“Before this all Grace was out five and six times a week. Some of the nurses said she had a better social life than they had.”

Mr Wells said his wife at 62-years is “the youngest person in her home”.

“Grace is the youngest person in the home. She is only 62-years, but she had a serious stroke in February 2016.

“She was 56 when she had it and we were floored by it. Just about everything is gone but she can sit and watch what people are doing and can understand what is going on but cannot say very much.

“But the sooner we can get into see her the better and we have to be understanding and wait it out.”

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