Dementia charity's care home visits plea

Dementia campaigners have called on the Government to maintain meaningful visits to care home residents during the new lockdown.

The call, from the Alzheimer's Society, comes after it was announced that closecontact indoor visits in care homes will not be allowed.

Visits involving screens, pods and through windows will still be able to go ahead, according to Cabinet Office guidance.

Fiona Carragher, director of research and influencing at the Alzheimer's Society, said the charity is calling for the Government to "act with compassion and prioritise the safe continuation of meaningful visits.”

She said: "After a dreadful year for people with dementia, worst hit by the virus, we are still having to stress that mental health plays as much of a role in people's survival as physical.

"The large majority of people in care homes with dementia do not have time on their side. Contact with their families isn't just for comfort but fundamental to their care – and most important of all, their reason for living.

"The Government must do everything it can to keep people in care homes safe from the virus, but act with compassion to prioritise meaningful visits continuing in a safe way, allowing residents to have the one thing that matters most in their final days."

Vic Rayner, executive director of the National Care Forum, said: "It is very important and positive that visiting remains firmly on the agenda and homes across the country will be working hard with loved ones to ensure visits can continue.”