IPads for homes no substitute for face-to-face time
EVERY care home in Scotland will be given an iPad to help residents keep in touch with their family and friends.
Nicola Sturgeon yesterday said ‘one or two’ tablets will be provided to residential homes – but insisted they will not be a ‘substitute’ for face-to-face visits.
Speaking at the Scottish Government’s coronavirus briefing, the First Minister said funding has been committed to providing all care homes in Scotland with at least one tablet.
‘This will enable more than 1,400 care homes to help their residents to stay connected with family and friends while visiting remains restricted,’ she said. ‘It will also help clinicians such as GPs or speech and language therapists with remote consultations when that is necessary.’
Current rules allow designated visitors to see residents indoors, but only in certain care homes and those that fulfil criteria such as weekly testing of staff.
Residents are also allowed up to six outdoor visitors from no more than two households.
Miss Sturgeon added: ‘ The iPads are not intended to be a substitute for personal visits to care homes – we know and understand how vital in-person visits are both for residents and for their family members.
‘For that reason, we are currently finalising our plans to ensure that routine visits from designated visitors can take place as safely as possible.
‘As we’ve indicated before, these plans will include regular testing of care home visitors.
‘however, this funding will give care home residents an additional way of keeping in touch with f amily and f riends and receiving expert clinical advice.’
After the briefing, the Scottish Government announced £1million has been identified to fund the iPad project, with all care homes able to apply for up to two devices.
The scheme is based on a pilot that provided digital devices to six care homes in Aberdeenshire to address digital exclusion, supported by Scottish Care, the Care Inspectorate and Scottish Social Services Council.
Dr Donald Macaskill, chief executive of Scottish Care, said: ‘We hope it is the start of an increased recognition of the critical contribution of technology in the care home sector and that we will see an enhanced commitment to the appropriate use of technology and digital in social care as a whole.’
The present rules also allow for up to four hours a week of indoor visits, but the majority of facilities are not yet allowing this and have called for weekly testing of designated visitors before letting such visits go ahead.
Miss Sturgeon has pledged to roll this out by the end of the year. however, concerns have been raised over the lack of surveillance testing for residents.
Earlier this year, the Government said health boards could
‘Help residents stay connected’ ‘Contribution of technology’
test asymptomatic residents to help track the virus, but only some are offering this.
Last month, a survey of 200 care workers by GMB Scotland found the majority (73 per cent) of staff thought care home visiting should remain a priority in the event of a stricter lockdown, while 23 per cent did not.
Charities have said a lack of social interaction has led to a deterioration in life quality of many older people. Age Scotland has said many families have been seriously alarmed by the decline in the health of their loved one during lockdown, in part because of enforced isolation to avoid the spread of coronavirus.