Care homes get green light to allow visitors

CARE home residents will be allowed visitors by the end of the month, the Health Secretary is due to announce next week, but the easing of restrictions will be done on a case-by-case basis.

Whitehall sources indicated homes will not be obliged to allow visitors, and that local health officials will have the final say on whether they think it is safe to do so.

The ban on visitors will stay in place in Leicester for the time being, and may also remain in other towns if the infection rate is considered too high.

Visitors will be expected to wear face coverings at all times to limit the risk of infection, it is understood.

The move was signalled after charities representing people with dementia said the lack of visits from friends and relatives was worsening their state of health.

Matt Hancock has already indicated an announcement on care homes can be expected within days, and government sources have indicated that the ban will be lifted before August.

One source described the proposed easing of the ban as “dynamic”, saying it would not apply nationwide because hot spots such as Leicester would be left out and it would be up to the managers of individual care homes to decide whether to open their doors.

Local directors of public health will also be involved in decisions on whether care homes in their areas should be opened, with decisions based on the rate of infections in the community, the rate of infections in care homes and whether those rates are going up or down.

Charities including the Alzheimer’s Society and Dementia UK wrote to Mr Hancock asking the Government “urgently” to address what they call the “hidden catastrophe” in care homes.

They say “enforced separation” has caused a “deterioration” in residents’ mental and physical health, in particular those with dementia, who account for more than 70 per cent of residents.

Care England, which represents most independent care providers, has said new guidance on the matter in England is essential and complained that it was “not right to keep people with care and support needs locked down indefinitely”.