The government’s guidance on care home visits in England during national lockdown opens the door to blanket bans despite claims to the contrary, according to the National Care Forum (NCF).
The member association for not-for-profit social care providers said the guidance emphasises the power of directors of public health to close services across an area and thereby instantaneously shut down visiting.
NCF executive director Vic Rayner (pictured) said it needs to be “crystal clear” that the decision to run these visits or otherwise can still sit outside of the gift of the home and their residents.
“It is imperative therefore that we work together at local and national level to ensure the visiting guidance is implemented in line with the policy ambition, that homes are and remain open for visits – or it will forever be known as the guidance that gives hope with one hand – and takes it away with the other,” she added.
The NCF welcomed that the government has recognised the role visiting plays in care home life but criticised the lack of assistance to make them happen.
“The guidance talks a good talk about how visiting can work in practice, outlining a more permissive approach than those in operation under tier 2 and tier 3, but offers nothing in the form of support to providers to make it happen at the scale and pace that relatives and residents both want and need,” said Rayner.
“The expectations around indoor visiting are particularly challenging to put in place from a standing start, and local interpretation and flexibility needs to be applied to work within the parameters of the care home environment to make this happen, so that meaningful visiting becomes a possibility for all," she added.
