Pilot scheme for care home visits is ‘ too little, too late’

YORKSHIRE FAMILIES have shared their experiences of care home visiting during Covid- 19 and said a Government pilot to enable more meaningful contact is “too little, too late”.

It has been eight months of no hugs, no holding hands and for some, not even any visits at all, while conditions of those living in care homes worsen before their friends and family’s eyes.

Hilary Sayer, from Sheffield, and her close family spent time with her mother Norma, who has Alzheimer’s disease, every day for five years since her father passed away including when she went into a care home this January. But due to strict coronavirus restrictions she has been unable to visit her in the home for more than eight months.

Replacements such as video calls and brief 15 minute visits once a week where visitors have to stand outside Norma’s window wearing a face mask have caused distress as Norma struggles to understand why she cannot be with her family in person.

Ms Sayer said: “Not only can mum not hear me, she cannot even watch my lips, it’s barbaric, inhumane and like visiting at the zoo. It is so upsetting knowing she is so close but yet I am not allowed to see her. I know care homes have to be protected against Covid but what it is doing to residents’ mental health is devastating.

“My mum’s dementia has deteriorated so much, she is now grinding her teeth through the anxiety of not having any meaningful contact with her family.

“She carries two dolls with her at all times that she kisses, feeds and looks after. I am guessing they give her the comfort that we are not allowed to. I am broken.

“She loved to reminisce and we often talked about the memories of cherished time we shared as a family.

“These things are the threads that keep mum connected to the real world.”

This week the Government began a pilot to reunite people by testing visitors across 20 homes in Devon, Cornwall and Hampshire, with the aim of putting this in place in every care home across the country by Christmas.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “I know how heartbreaking restricting visits to care homes has been, not only for residents, many of whom will feel disorientated and confused by the situation, but also their loved ones who aren’t able to simply hug each other to support them in this difficult time.

“Thanks to the expanding testing capacity we have in place we can now begin to trial a new way to allow safer visits to take place and prevent the spread of Covid19.”