Politics

Visits to UK care homes to be allowed as lockdown eases, says Matt Hancock


Care home residents in England will be allowed to receive indoor visits from one person from 8 March as lockdown restrictions start to be eased, health secretary Matt Hancock has said.

As the prime minister prepares to announce his “roadmap” out of lockdown, Hancock announced that each care home resident will be able to designate one person, who will be able to visit them regularly.

The visits will take place under strict conditions, with family members taking a Covid test beforehand and wearing PPE. They will not be required to prove that they have received the Covid vaccination, however.

The visitors will be able to hold their relative’s hand – though any other close contact will be discouraged.

Professor Deborah Sturdy, chief nurse for adult social care, said: “I know how much people want to visit, hug and kiss their loved ones but doing so can put lives at risk, so we would ask people to continue to follow the rules.”

She added, “This is a first step towards resuming indoor visits and we all hope to be able to take further steps in the future.

“I am pleased as a result of so many people following the rules we are in a position to increase visits and hope this is just the start.”

Relatives’ groups have been campaigning for families to be allowed more access to their loved ones, warning that regular contact with familiar people is a lifeline for those suffering from conditions such as dementia.

Hancock said, “I know how important visiting a loved one is and I’m pleased we will soon be in a position for people to be carefully and safely reunited with loved ones who live in care homes.

“This is just the first step to getting back to where we want to be. We need to make sure we keep the infection rate down, to allow greater visiting in a step-by-step way in the future.”

The move is likely to be one of only a few easements announced on 22 February, when Boris Johnson sets out the plan for leaving lockdown.

The campaign and support groups Rights for Residents, the Relatives and Residents Association and John’s Campaign urged ministers earlier this week to allow residents to select an essential caregiver to make in-person visits indoors and without screens.

They cited falling rates of Covid transmission in the community and the need to balance the risk from the virus with the risk of isolation and lack of connection.

But some care operators have raised concerns about the move, fearing the infection risk from new virus variants. They also say many cannot get insurance cover for Covid risks, including infection being introduced by visitors.

Previous Department of Health guidance stated that, “visiting should be supported and enabled wherever it is possible to do so safely … This means finding the right balance between the benefits of visiting on wellbeing and quality of life, and the risk of transmission of Covid-19 to social care staff and clinically vulnerable residents.”

Different homes and local authorities have interpreted the guidance differently, leading to a postcode lottery for the relatives of those in residential care.

Shadow social care minister Liz Kendall said: “For the last seven months, backed by Labour and charities, families have been calling for care home visits to start again and to be treated as key workers with access to all the PPE and testing they need.

“Over this period ministers have repeatedly failed to grasp how important families are for the physical and mental health of care home residents, and the appalling impact preventing visits has caused.

“Never again must families be denied the right to visit their loved ones in care homes. To have any confidence that things will really change, we need legislation to enshrine residents’ rights to visits and end the scandal of blanket visiting bans.”



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