Now families can visit care homes, new ruling states

FAMILIES will have a legal right to see their elderly relatives in care homes during the second national lockdown.

Rules published last night allow people to leave their homes if it is “reasonably necessary” and the person in the care home is a household member, close family member or friend.

The measures are different to those during the March lockdown, which banned visits in an attempt to stall the spread of the virus. Further guidance, which may restrict visits in certain high-risk areas or limit who can visit at the same time, is expected today. Decisions on visitors in high-risk areas are likely to be left to individual care homes or local authorities, running the risk of creating a patchwork system with uneven enforcement across the UK.

The Government had faced calls from the National Care Forum, which represents 60 organisations, to allow visits. The Forum said prohibiting visits denied residents their human rights.

In a leaked memo, Mr Justice Hayden, vice-president of the Court of Protection, which makes decisions for people who lack mental capacity, said the judiciary was concerned about the impact of lockdown on elderly people.

The memo was circulated to a number of care providers on Oct 15 and appeared to challenge government policy. Department of Health and Social Care guidance, issued last month, stated: “For (high risk or very high risk) local areas, visiting should be limited to exceptional circumstances, such as end of life.”

But in his memo, Mr Justice Hayden set out his analysis that the regulations did “permit contact with relatives” and friends and that such visits were “lawful”. He added: “It will undoubtedly be the case that the actual arrangements will have to be tailored to the particular i ndividual and the circumstances within the home.

“What is important is that these arrangements have been identified within the regulations made by the Secretary of State and are therefore lawful.”

The news would be welcomed by the National Care Forum, which had stated earlier: “We can no longer stand by and watch the erosion of people’s human rights and the impact of i solation through the effective blanket bans on visiting in care homes.”

A DHSC spokesperson said: “We know limiting visits in care homes has been incredibly difficult for many families, but our first priority remains the prevention of infection.”