Father 64 Was Placed On A Covid Ward Then Involuntarily Euthanised Without Consent Or Warning Leaving Family Devastated!

Lisa Pirks shares the harrowing story (in her own words) of her father Martin whose life was tragically ended prematurely at just 64 years of age.

My Dad's Name is Martin Frederick William Oddy. He died 16^th September 2021 at the age of 64. His death Certificate stated cause of Death was Covid Pneumonia, Hypertension and Diabetes. 

Dad had TypeInvoluntary Eunt 2 diabetes, high cholesterol and Hypertension. He was diagnosed with diabetes a year and a half before his death. He took medication for his high blood pressure and cholesterol; he was asked to manage his diabetes with diet and exercise. He did not manage to do this and had lots of episodes of fainting, weakness, thirst, extreme hunger and urinating excessively which are all symptoms of un-managed diabetes. This was happening on and off for a year and a half. He refused to see his GP for fear of being told off!

Despite this he was an independent stubborn and private man. He was retired and spent his time travelling around the country. He also had a boat on the Norfolk Broads and spent a lot of time there. Myself and my sister Kelly used to travel up to Norfolk with his grandchildren to go out on his boat and he would come and visit us once every 1-2 months for family get togethers.

We spoke to dad every week via phone calls. We regularly expressed our concerns to him about his health, but he always brushed it off and said he was fine (we naively believed him). Dad hated any form of medical intervention and worried constantly about getting into trouble with his GP, so kept them at arm's length.

Some extra background. When dad was admitted to hospital, we discovered that he'd been sleeping in his car. This made no sense to us. It was unnecessary given he owned his own home that was mortgage free, however we discovered he was renting this out. He had plenty of savings in the bank and also received a private pension. Obviously, there was always a place for him to stay with myself or my sister Kelly.

Dad was very secretive. He told us he was living on his boat. We since learnt he sold his boat in summer 2019. I think my dad must have suffered with mental health after his marriage breakdown and losing his parents. Myself and Kelly were very upset to discover that he had not been honest with us and that he'd been living like this for quite some time. This was Dad all over though, he just didn't want us worrying about him.

2nd September 2021 at 20:00

Dad was found collapsed outside a car and a passerby phoned for an ambulance. Police and ambulance attended to him. Dad's oxygen was low so he was given oxygen. I received a call from P.C Spirers (Bedfordshire police). He asked if I could come and collect Dad from Luton and Dunstable Hospital. His words were "Your Dad was found unconscious and was given Oxygen. Your Dad had felt drowsy after going to the shops, he went back to his car for some water and his legs gave way. His oxygen has now gone back up so can you come and collect him asap".

I spoke to Dad during this time via P.C Spirers's phone and he relayed the same story back to me. I said I would come and collect him, but then in the background the hospital had said to the officer they would keep him in overnight for observations. I spoke to PC Spirers In January 2022. He was shocked to learn that our dad had died and supposedly had Covid 19.

On admission, dad's Blood glucose was 24.4 and his ketones were 2.9 which is extremely high. This is on the cusp of Ketoacidosis which is dangerous if not treated quickly and would explain why he felt faint and collapsed. When the paramedic got to dad his oxygen Sats were at 26, so was very near to death. They increased it on the way to hospital and by 21:00 they had gone back up to a normal rate of around 92 or above.

Dr Raza who is an ICU consultant was on call. He contacted My sister around 21:30 with the assumption that she was the next of Kin. Kelly had advised Mr Raza of our concerns that our dad was diabetic and had been suffering with symptoms for a long time due to not managing it properly.

Dr Raza bluntly said "your Dad's got Covid, he needs to go to ICU. He needs a ventilator" he then went on to ask if he vaccinated. Dad was not vaccinated.

I was working a night shift and continued to call regularly for updates from the hospital. I could not call my dad directly as they said he did not have his phone. I bought Dad a mobile the following day and took it to the hospital so we could contact him directly. On collecting Dad's possessions after his death, we discovered 2 mobile phones plus the one I'd purchased for him, all of which they had kept from him.

We were getting conflicting information from the nurse on duty who said "your dad is fine and having something to eat and drink and does not require ICU".

I was advised Dr Raza would contact me with an update which he didn't do, even though the hospital notes stated he phoned me around 2am and there was no answer. I had no missed calls.

At 4am, I managed to get hold of Dr Raza who was now on the night shift and he advised me Dad was now on a Covid ICU ward and they had started a Covid Protocol. These Covid protocols exasperate an already dangerous diabetic state as steroids create more sugar in the body.

Dad was admitted with suspected Covid. He had no temperature. No cough. No loss of taste or smell. No flu like symptoms. No respiratory symptoms whatsoever. This is all recorded on his hospital records, along with observations such as "chest clear".

3rd September 2021

Dad was started on a NIV + Sarilumab + Dexamethasone + Co-amoxiclav + Clarithromycin. He wearing an oxygen mask. He was eating and drinking fine and taking himself to the toilet. However, the food provided by the hospital was not suitable for someone with high blood glucose. This was recorded in his notes.

6th September 2021

Dad had a visit from the diabetic team who took him straight of off Dexamethasone as this was exasperating his diabetes. The Insulin they were giving him to reduce his glucose levels was completely pointless and did not do anything. By this point he had already gone 4 days without glucose management and levels were dangerously high.

I spoke to my dad on the phone we had bought him. The first couple of days he was ok. By the September 7th, he was calling us requestion that we pick him up and get him out of there. He was scared, stressed and anxious. God knows what they had said to him, we can only imagine. We tried to reassure him that he would be ok and advised him to listen to the doctors. Kelly asked the nurse on shift if they could give him something to help alleviate his anxiety. Kelly was advised this was not possible as it would worsen his condition.

We never spoke to Dad after that. It was very difficult and distressing as a relative to have a call like that, particularly as we were not in the room and unable to see what was going on, nor properly support our dad.

8th September 2021

I tried to contact dad the following day and there was no answer. I was later contacted by a doctor who asked if I could call dad to try and calm him down as he was very agitated. He was panicking and kept removing his mask and saying he wanted to leave the hospital. I asked for them to check he had his phone as explained I had tried calling but was not getting an answer.

Minutes later Dr Raza rang and advised that dad needed to go on a ventilator or he would die. I asked if I could speak to him and he said he was confused and unable to speak. I asked if I could call would die. I felt I had no option and reluctantly told him to go ahead. I have to live with this for the rest of my life.

Dad was then incubated and given a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) which we were NOT informed of by Luton and Dunstable. The DNR document states that I had consented to a DNR. I did NOT and would never consent to this and neither would Dad. They put him on high levels of oxygen initially (at 80%) gradually reducing this daily.

10th September 2021

Dad's kidneys started to fail (stage 3) so he was put on filtration. I believe Dad may already have had some Kidney damage because he had not properly managed his glucose levels over the last year and also because of his ketone level. If this had been managed correctly and considered an emergency on admission, plus if they had listened to my own and Kelly's concerns, I believe this would be a different story. Again, they will blame covid but actually this was mismanagement of His diabetes and exasperation of this using Covid protocols.

11 September 2021

Dad's oxygen had greatly improved and his ventilation requirements dropped from 80% to 40%. He was still very poorly but this was a step in the right direction and very positive news.

12th September 2021

Dr Raz called to say Dad needed to be transferred to Bedford Hospital ICU. He said they needed his bed for someone who was waiting and that Dad was recorded as a "well-list patient". He went on to say that he was in the wrong hospital for his postcode. I could not believe that yet again, they were reducing his chances of recovery as a transfer is considered dangerous under these circumstances. I told the doctor about hospital staff continuously saying Dad was an old man and critical, that they were very negative with regards to a possible recovery. I emphasised that Dad was making progress and this move would be a massive risk to him. The decision was made to move him and we couldn't do anything about it.

13th September 2021

Dad was transferred to Bedford ICU arriving at 17:35. Admission notes were written by Zedek Edwin.

Unbeknown to us, on 12th September, the Luton and Dunstable ICU had taken Dad of his current sedation medication and put him on a Midazolam, Morphine and atracurium 5mg cycle. Also, for his transfer on the 13th, his Oxygen was increased from 40% to 100%.

During a meeting in Feb 2023 that was organised with NHS PALS, we questioned Dr Raz about this. Patients are apparently supposed to be monitored by specialist staff during an ICU transfer and it was not necessary or in any way beneficial to up my dad's ventilation to 100%. This requires a risk assessment to ensure it is in the best interest of the patient.

We asked Dr Raz why they changed his medication to Midazolam and Morphine which is an end-of-life concoction, when he was actually making progress. He said that his previous sedation meds had a negative impact on his sugar levels, to which I replied "so you thought supressing his respiratory system would help". Doctor Raza said it did not matter as he was on a ventilator which breathes for you. I had no words! We have a recording of this meeting.

Bedford Hospital phoned on the day of Dad's admission and said they had spent two hours adjusting his sedation and ventilation as it was not benefiting him. We were shocked when they told us that Dad had a DNR slapped on him which was assigned by Luton and Dunstable Hospital the day before his arrival on the 12th September.

I submitted a complaint to Bedford PALS as we wanted answers to questions and concerns, we had to which they have still not yet responded to. At our meeting in February 2023, it was Dr Raza and others who spoke on behalf of Bedford Hospital which we found highly inappropriate and concerning. Why could Bedford Hospital not respond to us directly? Why no representative?

Dads' health worsened over the next couple of days and on the 16^th September, we were invited to Bedford ICU to say goodbye to our father. They did not ask us to take a PCR test which conflicted with the fact that these were mandatory given we mid-pandemic.

What a deeply tragic and appalling state of affairs this turned out to be. We made clear our disgust at how Dad was treated or not as the case may be. We also requested his hospital notes. Bedford Hospital seemed concerned and asked "for Luton not us?" We were then advised to contact the hospital.

The sheer injustice and inhumanity of the situation was staggering. Why were we denied the right to be by our father's side when he was conscious? The logic behind Covid safety measures appeared to be riddled with contradictions. I could see my dad when he is dying but not otherwise? I have documented evidence of this in our hospital complaint. Hospital staff could come and go but they wouldn't allow even one family member to enter a Covid ward?

After Dad's death the senior Matron told us we would need to Isolate for 10 days which we found highly insensitive. We we had just lost our father and they wanted us to isolate for 10 days! Did they Isolate for ten days after a shift away from their families? We wore the full PPE like the rest of the hospital staff. This was outrageous! Particularly as Dad had been in hospital for nearly two weeks without another PCR test.

Apparently "Covid patients are not re-tested in hospitals until 90's days after a positive". Yet on admission, they repeatedly test until they get a positive - or not. I'd like to add that the test they used was not UKAS accredited and is not a substantial test for Covid 19.

Myself and Kelly believe my dad was killed using Covid protocols. He would still be here if they had treated him appropriately.

Justice will come!

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The following videos give a deeper understanding of what has and is continuing to happen. The first is a documentary covering the stories of family who lost their loved ones to involuntary euthanasia. The second video is Michael Elston who is raising awareness of the new Nice Guidelines for NG163 protocol: