VISITING - March 2021
From 8 March 2021, residential care providers are able to facilitate single named visitors for all residents, to visit indoors without screens; the new guidance, Guidance on Care Home Visiting, has been updated accordingly.
The latest Government advice is that visiting should be supported and enabled wherever it is possible to do so safely, except where there is an active Covid-19 outbreak in a care home.
It says every care home resident will be able to nominate a “single named visitor” who can enter the care home for regular visits. They must be tested using rapid lateral flow tests (LFTs) before every visit, wear the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), and follow all other infection control (IPC) measures, which the care home will guide them on during visits.
The visitors need to book the visit in advance and book in alternate weeks to let all the relatives and family see their loved ones.
The DHSC says visitors and residents are advised to keep physical contact to a minimum. They may wish to hold hands but should bear in mind that any contact increases the risk of transmission. There should not be close physical contact such as hugging.
The guidance, Guidance on Care Home Visiting, is available here.
In the event of an outbreak in the home, the home will immediately stop outward visiting.