Young woman followed after ‘washing corpses’ at nursing home took her own life

Taylor Watterson’s parents claim the harsh effects of her work led her to quit her job and isolate herself from family and friends before tragically taking her own life

A young nursing home worker tasked with washing the bodies of dead residents took her own life after being pursued from work, her parents claim.

Taylor Watterson, 22, was required to wash the bodies of residents as part of her job, but the trauma has severely impacted her mental health, they say.

Young Taylor worked in two Scottish care homes – Fullarton Care Home in Irvine and Shalom Care Home in Dreghorn.

The harsh effects of her work saw her quit the job and isolate herself from family and friends before taking her own life just days before Christmas.

Her devastated parents, Andi and Lana McCleave, feel their daughter couldn’t overlook some of the things she witnessed while on shift and struggling with the deaths of residents with whom she had formed a close bond.

Mum Lana from Stevenston, Ayrshire told this daily record : “Her work had a lot to do with her mental health.

“One day she asked me if I knew how many bodies she had washed. She had lost count. I couldn’t believe it when she said it.

“She was just a young girl and had to do it regularly.

“Doing this over and over again and regularly seeing residents who were on the verge of death was hard for them to take.”

Andi added: “She couldn’t distance herself from that. She told me it’s one or two people a week that she takes care of that she loses.

“The only other job you would do at that age would be a soldier in a war zone.

“What impact has that had on the mental health of the caregivers?

“People they had cared for for months and years were only days apart.

“They had taken care of these people and built relationships with them, then they just went away.

“Having a young girl sit there and tell you that was heartbreaking.”

Although she sought the help of her family doctor and was prescribed medication for her mental health, she was unable to recover.

Since their deaths, Andi and Lana have spent every free minute raising funds for more support for grieving families.

They organized a sponsored climb of Goatfell on the Isle of Arran and a The GoFundMe page has been set up to raise money in her memory.

“We have donated £1,200 to Beautiful Inside & Out, a mental health charity based in Kilmarnock,” said Lana.

“My employers, Confida FM, have also donated £1,000. We chose the charity because they provide counseling to those who have died after suicide.

“Helping others drives us. We don’t want other people to be in that position.”

The devastated mum added that she wants the fundraiser to go far.

Andi said: “We don’t want to limit fundraising to just one charity, we want to expand it.

“We have to feel like we’re helping because that’s what keeps us going.

“It’s hard enough for us to get up in the morning, but we want to spend as much time and raise awareness as we can.

“We will do everything we can to prevent another family going through something like this. If we can help one person, it’s worth it. We were lucky that we had a great support network around us that could help us.”

He added: “When suicide happens, it’s not just the loss of that person – everyone around is affected.

“There is very little help for individuals and there is no help for families and we are trying to change that. We must try to get more help for the people.”

A spokesman for the Fullarton Care Home said: “Everyone at the Fullarton Care Home who knew Ms Watterson when she worked here in 2019 is deeply saddened to learn of her passing.

“Our deepest sympathy goes to her family and friends.

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

Shalom Care Home did not respond to repeated requests for comment from the Daily Record.

The Mirror has contacted Shalom Care Home separately.

If you would like to donate to the fundraiser, you can find out more here.