Care Home Residents to be Allowed One Visitor

Monday, 22nd February 2021

Care home residents will be able to be visited indoors by a single, named individual from 8 March, a cautious step in bringing families back together as part of the the Prime Minister’s roadmap to ease lockdown restrictions.

The scheme will allow a single visitor to hold hands indoors with their relative or contact in a care home, and make repeat visits under carefully designed conditions to keep residents, staff and visitors safe.

Every resident will have the opportunity to name one individual, who will be required to have a test beforehand, wear PPE during the visit and avoid close contact. Outdoor, pod and screen visits will be able to continue in line with the published guidance which has been in place during lockdown, meaning there will be chances for residents to see more than just the one person they nominate.

The clinically led approach has been designed in partnership with the Deputy Chief Medical Officers and Public Health England and is the next step towards regular indoor visits resuming.

All visitors will receive a lateral flow test and be required to follow all infection prevention and control measures. All care home providers not experiencing an outbreak will be asked to follow the updated guidance and continue to work together with families and local professionals to ensure visits are possible while continuing to limit the risk of transmission of COVID-19.

It is believed that these measures, based on the science, represent a balance between the risk of infections and the importance of visiting for the physical and mental wellbeing of care home residents and their families.

For more on this story please visit: Care home residents to be allowed one visitor as part of cautious easing of lockdown - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)