Care home leaders have given their reactions following the government's announcement that visiting restrictions will be lifted from Monday.
Health and Social Care Secretary, Sajid Javid, said yesterday that limits on the number of visitors allowed into care homes are to be removed.
Self-isolation periods will also be reduced with care home outbreak management period's previously having been cut to 14 from 28 days
Reaction
Sam Monaghan, CEO of MHA, welcomed the easing of visiting restrictions and isolation after a visit out of the home and when a resident tests
positive.
"We have argued for these restrictions to be reconsidered given the changes in the wider community and it is great that the Government has
listened to us and other providers," Sam said.
"All this has been made possible because of the vaccination and booster programme and its impact. We now need to make sure that any
progress is not lost and that care home residents continue to be at the forefront of any future vaccination programmes."
James Allen, CEO National Care Group, said: "Families are such an important part in the lives of the individuals we support and we are so
grateful for the patience, understanding and support they have shown over the period of the pandemic. We welcome the announcement that
restrictions are being lifted, the time feels right for everyone."
Patrick Atkinson, director at Church Farm Care, said his four care homes were looking forward to returning to a "semblance of normality".
"Visits from relatives are a huge part of our person-centred approach and we regularly see the positive effect it can have on our family members'
wellbeing and happiness," Patrick said.
"However, we are incredibly aware that COVID-19 still hasn't gone away completely, and we will be continuing to do everything we can to ensure
the safety of those who live and work with us, which is why we're choosing to keep a number of measures in place."
Neil Russell, chair of specialist care provider PJ Care, welcomed the government's announcement that visiting restrictions will be ended while
highlighting that precautions would remain in place.
Neil gave a cautious response to plans to replace weekly PCR tests for staff with lateral flow tests before a shift as of February, however.
"There are so many precautions that work, lateral flow tests are part of those but should not be relied on exclusively as they are not 100%
successful in picking up positive cases, so they need part of a raft of measures to help protect residents," Neil said.
Staffing crisis
Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK, cautioned, however, that significant numbers of COVID outbreaks meant that many care homes
would remain closed on a rolling basis, albeit for a shorter period.
Caroline added that staffing shortages would mean that many providers would also struggle to resume normal visiting, while pointing out that
some operators had been less than prepared than others to hosts visits.
"There's no reason to suppose that this will suddenly be changed by this new guidance and, in the end, these decisions are the responsibility of
care home owners and managers, as the Government has repeatedly pointed out – though the inspectorate also has a big role in ensuring fair
play," Caroline said.
Vic Rayner OBE, CEO of the NCF, also highlighted concerns that the staffing crisis could impact providers' ability to meet the changes "at
speed".
"We have heard the headlines, we now need to see the detail of how providers will be supported to put this policy into practice," Vic said. "We
look forward to seeing the guidance as soon as possible so that care providers, residents and their families all understand what this policy
actually means.
"We also look forward to hearing from the government about the ongoing support and funding it will make available to the sector to help tackle
the ongoing workforce pressures which may limit providers' immediate ability to implement this policy on Monday."
Jayne Connery, from family rights group Care Campaign for the Vulnerable, expressed fears that care homes would not follow through on the
guidance.
Describing the government announcement as "wishy-washy", Jayne said there had been an "absolute lack of support" for the sector