Gloucestershire care homes given 'tool kit' to allow visits

Kath Barnard's mother Janet (right) has dementia - she said her mother was 'starved of love' during lockdown

Care homes in Gloucestershire have been given new guidance to allow more people to visit lonely friends and relatives.

The county council recommended that homes should stop allowing visitors to curb the spread of Covid-19 last month.

However, Gloucestershire's director of public health Sarah Scott has now said that visits can go ahead, but only with strict safety measures in place.

She said the advice would aim to ensure visiting was safe "for the residents, the staff and the visitors themselves."

Gloucestershire County Council recommended that care homes suspended visits on 20 October, 'to minimise the impact of Covid on those at risk from it'.

The decision caused distress to many families who said their visits were important.

Kath Barnard, from Gloucester, whose mother is in a care home in the city said she deteriorated during the first lockdown when visits were banned.

"Mum's in an ever-increasing world of confusion, family visits were a point of stability.

"Now that she can see me again, it gives her that routine and safe place.

Ms Barnard's care home has built a special pod that will allow safe visits in lockdown using plastic screens to separate people.

This is permitted by government guidelines, which require a "substantial screen" between visitors and residents if open-air, socially distanced visits aren't possible.

But her daughter said the pods don't go far enough.

"There's residents nationally who are unable to get out of bed, so how will that be managed?" she said.

Ms Scott has written to families to inform them of the updated guidance, which has been handed down from the government.

"It is an emotive issue and there are no easy decisions here. Our number of cases in care home residents and staff continues to climb every day.

"We have released guidance to give almost a tool kit to care homes to help them work through how they can allow visiting and allow it in a way that is safe for the residents, the staff and the visitors themselves," she said.