County MP appeals to minister for a rethink on care home visits
DERBYSHIRE MP Sarah Dines has been lobbying Parliament to rethink its policy over care home visits, by using the story of an Ashbourne care home resident in a plea to the minister for care Helen Whately.
Ms Dines says she wants the Government to “look very carefully” at what is happening in care homes during the coronavirus pandemic, bearing in mind the increase in testing and the stringent measures the homes are taking to protect their residents.
To strengthen her point, she posed a question to Mrs Whately in a recent parliamentary session, pointing out the plight of a 91-year-old Ashbourne woman.
She explained: “I’ve been contacted by Ann Penrose, who is 91, in good health, in a care home in
Ashbourne, Derbyshire Dales.
“She asked her family to contact Boris Johnson. But sadly she got me.
“Will the minister agree that the time has come to look very carefully at what is happening in care homes, to review the existing measures and routines and guidelines, bearing in mind that we’re testing so much now? “We need to have a bit more humanity. We’re in dang danger of throwing the baby out with the bath water. “People need their fa families. Yes, in a safe en environment, but they do ne need to have access to th their families and, at times, thei their pets.”
In re reply, Mrs Whately told Ms Dines she h had made a “really important point”.
She said: “This has been one of the hardest areas over the last few months to get right.
“To get the balance right between protecting care home residents from the risk that Covid might be brought into the care home, where it is so hard to control, while giving them access to visitors.
“That’s why in the summer we issued guidelines on safe visiting, and giving more freedom about the decisions on visiting to local authorities, directors of public health, working with care homes.”
In a later parliamentary session, Ms Dines was also given the opportunity to question Health Secretary Matt Hancock – Mrs Whately’s boss – and she chose to refer to another example of a care home resident in her constituency.
Derbyshire Dales resident Sarah Peet’s grandfather was taken into a care home.
He had been married for nearly 70 years and, sadly, could not see his wife because of the coronavirus restrictions.
She said: “Can my right honourable friend please update the House as to what’s being done in relation to rapid testing to stop the scourge of loneliness in our care homes?”
Mr Hancock referred to the gentleman’s 70-year marriage as an “extraordinary achievement” and said he had been working on ways to allow visiting in a way that is safe, according to the risk level, of the background rate of infection.
He said: “Of course, testing can be part of the solution, as can be the use of PPE properly.
“We have more nuanced rules in place now than there were during the first peak and I’d be very happy to work with my honourable friend to make sure that we get this right.”