The cruelty of care home policy

To The Times

Your report “Guidance for care home visits could end them” spells out the disgraceful attitude of the Government. Residents in care homes have been deprived of the physical presence of family members for more than eight months. To maintain visits as they are now, at a distance through a glass screen, is to impress upon these people that they are no longer worthy of love. Many residents are bed-bound, suffer from end-stage dementia and are only comforted by the gentle, tender touch of those they know best.

It seems extraordinary that the Government can introduce fast, universal Covid-19 testing for a whole city when it will not consider it universally, now, for care home visitors. As the wife of a seriously unwell resident, I and many others wish for nothing more than to spend precious time with the people we love.

Anne Cowan, Stretham, Cambridgeshire

To The Times

During my first visit, in June, to see my wife after the first lockdown, a mobile screen was placed between us. It was a truly horrible experience for both of us: it felt like visiting a prisoner. She was miserable and the screen was abandoned shortly afterwards. The new regulations, establishing an even bigger (floor to ceiling) screen, are even worse. Each week that I have been visiting my wife you can see from the look on her face the joy she has from seeing her dog on a long lead with me. As we are not allowed physical contact, this go-between arrangement is a welcome substitute and gives her great joy.

But imagine how she will feel now, seeing her dog with me but being denied any contact? This guidance takes no account of the conditions in the county in which we live, which has a very low level of infection.

Timothy Easton, Woodbridge, Suffolk