Government urged to review isolation of older people in care in pandemic

During the Covid 19 pandemic, a charity believed that advice which limited visitation of family to an older relative in care strongly impacts on the older person’s human rights.

It is cited that the unrealistic and unmanageable safety policies that have been put in place in order to reduce the risk of infection have actually prevented care homes from returning to any kind of normality. This has resulted in many care homes still being in total lockdown with almost all residents still denied any face to face contact with a loved one.

The R&RA helpline receives a high level of daily calls from concerned families detailing the negative impact of continued isolation on their family member with reports of weight loss, confusion, inability to recognise family members, loss of speech and a general lack of will to live.

Helen Wildmore, Director of the R&RA says that the family support network of those in care offer practical as well as emotional support to residents and this must be reinstated. These family members not only provide a positive emotional experience for the resident but in many cases share the workload of feeding, engaging, changing and caring for an older person. With this family network denied access, professional care staff are finding themselves stretched to capacity. Wildmore is urging the government to provide better guidance for care homes and families, with a focus on the following areas:

1. The advice for older people to have only one, single consistent visitor should be removed. The current guidance creates impractical, inhumane and unfair decisions on family members.
2. Visits should not have a time limit. R&RA suggest that these are not necessary and make visiting unpractical and distressing for the resident and family.
3. Regular testing should be made available to staff, visitors and residents. This would make tracking any potential outbreaks easier and enable more frequent – yet safer - visiting.
4. The current government guidelines state that care home staff should chaperone visits. This is not necessary and should be removed – unless there is a specific safeguarding concern. Every resident has a human right to privacy.
5. Decisions regarding policies and regulations with regard to stopping the spread of infection should be made by individual assessment and specific needs, rather than a blanket decision.

Helen Wildmore commented, “The Government’s guidance on visiting is not fit for purpose. Care providers need clarity and leadership. They need clear, practical guidance and support from the Government about managing visits whilst COVID-free, and planning for if they develop cases. We need to achieve a better balance between protecting people from the virus and protecting their well-being. Care homes are people’s homes. They are places where people should expect a good quality of life, not simply to exist." 

HARP delivers a wide range of digital solutions to enable safe and secure management of visitors and staff arrivals and departures and reduce the spread of infections in nursing and care homes, hospitals, schools and commercial businesses. For more information on how we can help protect your employees, families, and residents, contact us here.