Care home owner says easing of Covid rules will benefit residents
A MAN who runs several care homes in North Yorkshire has welcomed the decision to relax Covid-19 restrictions for care home residents, claiming it is “time to give them some quality of life back”.
Mike Padgham, chief executive of Saint Cecilia’s Care Group, said residents will benefit after the Government announced they will be able to have unlimited visits from family and friends from January 31 and self-isolation periods will also be cut.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid has said the measures can be lifted due to the success of the vaccine programme and falling rates of the Omicron variant of Covid.
Mr Padgham, who is also chair of the Independent Care Group, which represents care homes across North Yorkshire, said: “The risk is perhaps the virus could come back into homes, with the number of visitors increasing. But on the other side of that, residents and their relatives have missed that contact for months and they have already been through a tough two years.
“It is having a negative effect on their mental wellbeing, so you have to weigh that against the risk of Covid coming in.”
He added: “With the rest of society enjoying freedoms with risks, people in care homes should be afforded the same choice. I think now is the time to give them some quality of life back.”
Self-isolation periods in care homes will be cut from 14 days to 10 days and homes will only have to follow outbreak management rules for 14 rather than 28 days.
People can also be released from isolation early if they test negative on days five and six, in line with the wider public.