Care providers have given a cautious welcome to forthcoming government plans to allow relatives to visit care and nursing homes.
Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock told ITV News he thought visits could resume in the “next few days”.
"There'll be more details soon, but I think that people are yearning to see their loved ones and the residents of care homes get so much from visitors," Hancock said.
The Independent Care Group (ICG) said enabling relatives to visit their loved ones is vital to both sides’ mental and physical health after the Covid-19 lockdown.
Yet it has urged caution and warned a resumption of visits must be carefully planned and staged to avoid contributing to a second wave of coronavirus.
“Any resumption of visiting will have to be limited at first and carefully-managed, with full personal protective equipment (PPE) in use, social distancing and hand washing a priority and numbers kept under control,” said ICG chairman Mike Padgham (pictured).
“We will probably need to do it on an appointment basis at first as homes will not be able to cope with a sudden rush and it will ultimately be up to individual homes and individual local authority areas to decide whether they feel it is safe to allow relatives in,” he added.
Padgham said care homes would need to be mindful of the “enormous” extra demand the return of visitors would create for PPE and systems will have to be in place for homes to get supplies to cope.
“Bodies like Care England and ourselves have been waiting for visiting guidance from the government for several weeks and we look forward to receiving that information as soon as possible so that we know how to proceed.”
Shadow Social Care Minister Liz Kendall meanwhile backed the imminent return of care home visitors.
“This is something Labour has been calling for weeks. It has been a very worrying time for people with loved ones in care homes and so it is vital that care homes get clear guidance, PPE and access to regular testing to ensure visits are safe,” she said.
The ICG meanwhile supported calls from leading charities including Dementia UK and the Alzheimer's Society, for relatives of those with dementia to be treated as key workers, enabling them to visit.
