Carehome visitscould resume

Richard Leonard has called on the Scottish Government to act urgently to find safe ways to allow families to visit loved ones in care homes.

It has been almost a year since care homes closed their doors to visitors to reduce the risk of the spread of Covid-19.

Central Scotland MSP Mr Leonard wrote to the Scottish Human Rights Commission asking for the body to investigate whether there had been a breach of the human rights of care home residents.

He said: “Things have moved on, and whilst the risk of the virus is still very real, there is now PPE that wasn’t available last spring, mass testing, and the vaccination rollout that has reached almost every care home resident who have now received their first dose of the vaccine.

“We owe a huge debt of gratitude to care home staff who have worked tirelessly under the most intense pressure over the last year, but they too would say that their residents benefit, particularly in their mental health and wellbeing, when they have visits from their family. I hope that this can happen soon.”

A campaign by several organisations is calling on the major political parties to commit to a commissioner for autistic people and anyone with a learning disability during the upcoming Holyrood election.

The “Our Voice Our Rights” initiative, launched by ENABLE Scotland, National Autistic Society Scotland and Scottish Autism, aims to make Scotland the best country in the world for the 56,000 autistic people and 120,000 residents with a learning disability – and their families – who live there.

Jan Savage, director of the ENABLE Scotland charity, said: “The creation of a commissioner be a symbolic appointment – a strong signal to this population that you matter, you are important to us all, and that we want to do better by you and with you.

“It would also work alongside existing public bodies, their regulators and people who have learning disabilities themselves, to provide insight and accountability where things are not working well – and, most importantly, lead change.”