Fears that ban visits Care homes plan to again at Christmas
CONCERN is mounting that hundreds of thousands of care home residents will be denied visitors again this Christmas.
The Daily Express has unearthed disturbing evidence showing that moves are being made to keep families away – in direct contravention of official guidance.
Some care providers have already suggested they will shut their doors, meaning frail and vulnerable clients will be left without visitors – a move described as “the Ghost of Christmas Past haunting those most in need of face-to-face contact”.
In correspondence seen by this newspaper, Solehawk – which has homes in Newcastle and Gateshead – told families that Christmas visiting was “very restricted”. Any resident who leaves will need to be isolated for up to 14 days upon their return.
Larchwood Care, with homes in England, Scotland and Wales, said “visiting will not normally be taking place on Christmas Day to allow our staff to focus on providing an enjoyable experience for our residents”.
Meanwhile, a poster at Hengoed Park Care Home in Swansea makes clear that visits are banned on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
It is feared dozens more will follow and use Covid variant Omicron as a reason to lock out families.
Separated
Jenny Morrison, co-founder of pressure group Rights for Residents, said: “The Prime Minister has reassured everyone that Christmas Present will be infinitely better and yet they will once again be forcibly separated from their loved ones. For many of them there is no Christmas Future.
“Last year, my own mum was denied the chance to spend Christmas with her family and tragically it was to be her last.”
Government guidance makes it clear there are no national visiting restrictions on family and friends. It expects and encourages care providers to facilitate visits where possible, in a risk-managed way.
It states: “Visiting is an integral part of care home life. It is vitally important for maintaining the health, wellbeing and quality of life of residents.
“Visiting is also crucial for family and friends to maintain contact and life-long relationships with their loved ones, and to contribute to their support and care.The duration of visits should not be limited.”
There remains wide ignorance about the guidance on Essential Care Givers (ECG).
Every home resident is entitled to one, who is allowed to visit even when the person is isolating or during a Covid outbreak, to provide companionship and support.
However, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) watchdog and the Department of Health and Social Care, which draws up guidance for visiting, were unable to say how many ECG requests have been approved or denied since it became a right on March 8. Neither body is monitoring compliance.
The CQC refused to say how many complaints it had received about denial of ECG status, saying to provide an answer would be “too costly”.
With less than three weeks to Christmas Day, the Express has been told some homes are banning all visits for up to 11 days over the festive season. Others are limiting residents to just one visitor over the holidays.
In many cases relatives have been told that there will be only a few time slots available on a “first come,
first served basis” with other visits limited to spouses only.
One distraught woman, whose mother is living in one of the care homes where bosses have banned Christmas visits, said: “Although we could take Mum out on Christmas Day, it’s an eight-hour round trip. I think it would be too much to bring her here for the day.
Emotional
“My daughters are 18 and 14, both vaccinated and tested twice a week. But when I asked if we could book a visit for the three of us, [the home] said they would need a meeting to discuss it.”
A spokesman for Solehawk said its staff would make Christmas “happy and festive” for residents: “We will take a flexible approach to Christmas Day visits, in a safe and compliant way.” Larchwood said: “Visiting at Christmas time can be an emotional subject for our residents and their families.
“We are sympathetic to their needs as well as the wellbeing of our truly outstanding staff. It would be impossible to arrange safe visits for every resident on one day and we want to be fair to all.
“Subject to a full risk assessment, pre-booked visits can be arranged in some circumstances, at the discretion of the home manager. Our dedicated teams will do everything they can to make it a happy and festive day.”
Helen Wildbore, the director of the Relatives & Residents Association charity, said: “People living in care are facing the most catastrophic and sustained attack on their human rights.They were abandoned at the outset of the pandemic and continue to be left behind today, still living under stringent restrictions while the rest of the country gets back to normal.
“Our helpline hears daily from families being refused ECG status to spend meaningful time together, facing nonsensical rules, even struggling to get in to provide support at the end of life. “Despite our repeated calls to step in and proactively monitor what’s happening, the CQC continues to sit on the sidelines. People in care have been failed by the very systems designed to protect their rights. Families tell us they cannot face another winter of this.
“Older people deserve a life of dignity, but for too many it will soon be too late.”
A Department of Health spokesman said: “We are doing everything we can to support care providers to facilitate visits safely including ensuring all residents can nominate an Essential Care Giver, removing limits on visitors and reducing the period of time visit restrictions apply following an outbreak.
“Our message is clear – all care home residents should be supported to get the care and companionship they need from visitors as this is essential to their health and wellbeing.
“We continue to keep our guidance under review.”