South Australian woman issues desperate plea to see grandmother

A South Australian woman has made a desperate, heartfelt plea on social media to be able to see her 95-year-old grandmother in hospital.

South Australian woman Paige Carter has made a tearful plea to South Australia’s premier Steven Marshall, begging to be able to see her dying grandmother who has been in hospital for the past month.

Ms Carter took to Facebook earlier this month with a public plea asking for ways to get special items to her 95-year-old nanna.

“I want to use the power of social media to help my nanna,” Ms Carter said.

“She is 95 years old and has been alone in hospital for 11 days with Covid.

“We’ve barely been able to speak to her because understandably the nurses are too run off their feet to help her answer the phone but when we do speak to her she repeats to each of us that all she wants is a glass of Pepsi.

“We are unsure when we’ll see her again, our family is heartbroken that there’s nothing we can do.”

Paige Carter wants to be able to see her grandmother in hospital.

The post, which received an inundation of messages of support and assistance, was followed by a video from the South Australian woman — tagging Mr Marshall and begging for elderly Australians not be “abandoned”.

“Steven Marshall, I have a question for you – if your 95-year-old grandmother, or mother, was laying in a hospital bed for over a month, would you be able to see her?” she said.

“There are hundreds of families going through the same thing as us, and it’s cruel.”

Paige with her 95-year-old grandmother.

Ms Carter said the rules abandon elderly in hospital

Ms Carter told the ABC that she had never gone this long without seeing her grandmother, who was initially admitted to Adelaide’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital following a fall in early January.

After testing positive to Covid-19 and recovering from her infection, she was taken to a rehabilitation centre but returned to QEH this week after becoming unwell.

“I’ve never gone this long without speaking to her or seeing her or knowing she’s OK,” she said.

“I miss my nanna so much.”

Ms Carter made a heartfelt plea to SA premier Steven Marshall.

It is understood that visitors are allowed into the hospital for “compassionate reasons or where it is critical care” but Ms Carter said that when she spoke with hospital staff, “compassionate” applied only for “end of life” circumstances and that two people would only be allowed entry.

“Two people out of a big family would be able to go in and say goodbye when the time comes,” she said.

“How does a family make the decision of who that is going to be? We’re being forced to abandon her and that’s not OK.”