Liz Kendall – 2020 Comments on Care Home Visiting Guidelines

The comments made by Liz Kendall, the Shadow Minister for Social Care, on 4 November 2020.

This guidance is not good enough. Many care homes simply won’t be able to comply with the Government’s requirements, and so in reality thousands of families are likely to be banned from visiting their loved ones.

Instead of requiring floor to ceiling screens for indoor visits, or outdoor ‘window’ visits that won’t work for many people with dementia and because of the winter weather, the Government should instead designate a single family member as a key worker – making them a priority for weekly testing and proper PPE just as is supposed to happen for care home staff.

Unless the government changes course many care home residents will end up fading fast and their families will suffer the pain and sorrow of not being able to see the people they love and care about most.