Families set for reunion with loved ones in care
FAMILIES could soon be able to reunite with relatives in care homes amid signs that coronavirus is finally being brought under control.
The Mail can reveal that the Scottish Government has drawn up plans for visits to return – although it has not yet given a specific timescale.
In the first phase, a ‘key visitor’ chosen by families will be allowed to meet a resident for up to 15 minutes. The meetings will have to take place in an outdoor space – such as a care home garden – with social distancing in place. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: ‘Changes to the care home sector on restricted visiting and a pause on normal activities and routines to protect residents, staff and visitors, have had a significant impact on the wellbeing of residents and their loved ones.
‘We already enable families to visit loved ones in their final days and in other exceptional circumstances, and we are developing plans for a phased return to visiting, when it is clinically safe to do so.’
National Records of Scotland figures published yesterday show there were 35 deaths in care homes last week, down from 42 the previous week.
It is the lowest toll since the second week of the crisis in March and the eighth week in a row that the number has reduced, since hitting a peak of 340 in April.
The total number of deaths in care homes is 1,896 – and beyond 2,000 when the deaths of residents transferred to hospitals are included. In contrast, the number of all hospital deaths in Scotland is 1,882.
It is understood that some care homes have allowed visits to resume in garden areas already, although industry leaders have warned against this until the Scottish Government gives the green light.
Some operators also want to consider creating ‘drive-through’ meeting facilities or installing glass pods in gardens to allow visits in any weather.
At First Minister’s Questions yesterday, Tory MSP Brian Whittle raised the case of a friend who has been unable to break the news of his mother’s death to his father, who suffers from dementia and is in a care home.
Mr Whittle said: ‘My friend wants to be able to tell his father face to face. My friend said that he is not only saddened by the loss of his mother, but that the sadness is compounded by the fact that his father’s dementia is accelerating because of lack of contact with the family.’
He urged Miss Sturgeon to consider giving ‘clear guidance’ to care homes to allow family visits to resume. The First Minister said she will consider how this guidance develops as the country exits lockdown.
She added: ‘Given what we have already seen unfolding in our care homes, everybody will understand that we are perhaps even more cautious here than we are in other areas.
‘Work is under way, and a lot of thinking is going on into when and how normal visiting can be resumed in care homes. The decision must be based on the most careful consideration.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘Currently, we are unable to reintroduce visiting because the level of transmission in the community, although falling, means it is not yet safe to do so. When the evidence shows visiting can be done in a clinically safe manner we will take this forward.’
Meanwhile, figures showed only 4,477 out of 53,500 care home staff were tested for Covid19 last week, despite a Government promise to roll out routine weekly testing for all staff.
‘Most careful consideration’