Monday, 25 Nov 2024

Tragedy as care home worker, 22, haunted by having to wash dead bodies takes her own life

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info

Taylor Watterson was just 22 years old when she felt she had taken enough. She had worked in two care homes, one in Irvine and the other in Dreghorn. As part of her role, the young woman was tasked with cleaning people she had cared for in the homes once they had died.

Her parents spoke of how this had impacted their daughter’s mental health.

Taylor quit her job and isolated herself from both friends and family before taking her own life, according to the Daily Record, just before Christmas 2021.

Her mother, Lana McCleave told the paper: “Her job had a lot to do with her mental health.

“One day she asked if I knew how many dead bodies she’d washed. She’d lost count. I couldn’t believe it when she said it. She was just a young girl and was having to do it regularly.

“Doing that over and over again and seeing residents she was close to regularly passing away was hard for her to take.”

Taylor’s father, Andi, added: “She couldn’t dissociate from it. She told me it was or two people a week that she was looking after that she was losing.

“The only other line of work that would happen in at that age would be a soldier in a war zone. What sort of effect did that have on the mental health of the carers? People they had been looking after for months and years were just gone within days of each other.”

Andi said it had been “heart-breaking” to hear his daughter revealing these details of her work.

READ MORE: Boris slammed by voters for rising cost of petrol

Taylor did seek the help of her GP and was prescribed medication for her mental health.

These, unfortunately, did not help her to recover.

Andi and Lana are now working hard to fundraise for grieving families and have organised a sponsored climb of Goatfell, on the Isle of Arran.

A GoFundMe page has been setup to help raise money.

DON’T MISS:
Hated Brexit deal ‘could shatter UK’ [OPINION]
Farage blasts those blaming conflict in Ukraine for inflation [NEWS]
Britons blast Tories and Labour who are ‘as bad as each other’ [OPINION]

A spokesperson for Fullarton Care Home, one of the two homes Taylor worked at, quoted in the Daily Record, said: “Everyone at Fullarton Care Home who knew Ms Watterson when she worked here in 2019 are deeply saddened to learn of her passing. Our deepest sympathies are with her family and friends.

“We will remember her fondly as one of life’s natural carers, someone who easily built strong relations with the people she cared for, and who was determined to bring joy to our Residents’ lives through her kindness and compassion.”

The Samaritans can be reached round the clock, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

If you need a response immediately, it’s best to call them on the phone. You can reach them by calling 116 123, by emailing [email protected] or by visiting www.samaritans.org.

Source: Read Full Article

Related Posts