Care home residents will be able to spend more time with family
and friends, including overnight stays as part of an easing of
visiting restrictions announced today.
Currently residents can only leave the care home for a visit if
outdoors or for high-priority reasons, such as a dental or GP
appointment, but will now be able to leave the home for more
social reasons without having to isolate.
From 21 June, people admitted to a care home from the community
will no longer have to self-isolate for 14 days on arrival, so
residents will have a less disruptive introduction to their new
home.
To ensure this happens safely, residents will undergo an enhanced
testing regime - a PCR test before admission, a PCR test on the
day of admission and a further PCR test 7 days later.
Minister for Care, said:
"I have heard first-hand from those living and working in care
homes how difficult the restrictions around visiting have been
and I’m incredibly grateful to everyone working in the sector who
has helped reunite families safely.
“Thanks to the continued success of the vaccine rollout, I am
pleased we can now take another step towards normality, helping
more people enjoy visits out of the care home while protecting
them from the continued risk of COVID-19.”
The government has also strengthened the role of the ‘Essential
Care Giver’, which means every resident should be able to
nominate a friend or family member to provide extra care on their
visits. Essential Care Givers can continue to visit during
outbreaks.
The Essential Care Giver role is intended to provide additional
support from someone with a unique personal relationship with the
resident.
They have access to the same PPE and testing supply as care home
workers and should be allowed to continue to visit during periods
of isolation or where there is an outbreak.
Care home residents would still need to isolate for 14 days
following a visit out that would be deemed high risk through a
risk assessment or after an overnight stay at hospital.
If a person is admitted from a hospital or another care home they
must also self-isolate.
The government has worked to do everything it can to make sure
staff are kept as safe as possible while they support others,
including prioritising them for the COVID-19 vaccine, increased
testing and a constant supply of free PPE.
Almost £1.8 billion has been made available for adult social care
including infection prevention and control measures to support
providers to pay staff who are self-isolating and limit the
movement of staff where possible.
Notes to editors:
- Updated guidance will be published in due course.
- Care homes will need to conduct individual risk assessments
to ensure visits out are not high risk. This will take into
account the number of nights the resident plans to stay out of
the home.
- When a resident is admitted to a care home from the community
they are given an enhanced testing regime consisting of a PCR
test before admission, a PCR test on the day of admission and a
further PCR test 7 days later.
- Decisions about an individual resident’s visits outside of a
care home should be taken with the resident’s assessed needs and
circumstances considered. The care home should balance the
benefits of visits out of the care home against a consideration
of the risks to others in the home, where necessary.
- Individual risk assessments should take into account:
-
- The vaccination status of residents, visitors and staff
- Levels of infection in the community
- Variants of concern in the community
- Where the resident is going on a visit and what
activities they will take part in whilst on the visit
- The mode of transport residents intend to use
