Well I have had a response to my letter about visiting which I wrote to our MP, the response is from the local authority regulatory compliance officer, here it is:
Dear Mr xxxxxxxx
We have received a copy of your email from Rt. Hon. Esther Mc Vey’s office. I am sorry to hear about your personal situation and not being able to visit your mum at her care home.
Unfortunately, as you are no doubt aware, current government guidance of 31st July 2020, is still on a risk based approach taking into account local infection rates, COVID testing of staff and residents, policies of the individual care home and assessments by the local director for public health.
Therefore, you may have to wait for an update from the care home itself to suggest the measures it has in place, in addition to any local restrictions prior to allowing visitors. I am sorry I cannot provide more positive information for you.
Kind regards
xxxx
This is my repsonse to it:
Dear xxxx
Thank you for your response
Firstly, to be clear I have no complaint about xxxxx xxxxx care home, who have been excellent in caring for my mum.
I am aware of the recent government guidance having read it. While I understand the associated risks of coronavirus, no one is able to answer my question on visiting. There is a blanket response on this matter. As I have said in my previous email I have spoken with the head office of mums care home and they also directed me to government guidance.
I think that there is a general lack of understanding of the need for person centred care in dementia and how this situation is now being managed illustrates how poor dementia care is in the UK. My mum doesn’t have time and it is difficult to predict when her dementia will become incompatible with life, but she is at the end stage. In this situation coronavirus is not so significant and I feel the burden of the restrictions being imposed on visiting my mum are now futile in any event. I have also been tested and have no antibodies so visiting would not have needed to be completely restrictive -but this opportunity has been missed, despite testing seen as one of the approaches in management of spread.
I am not satisfied that the benefits of extra burden of sanctions outweigh the risks for those at the end stage of a life limiting disease such as dementia, further the rest of the general population may now go about their daily lives with precautions (including those at high risk) yet those in care homes are being denied such basic human needs. I feel that there are solutions to this problem, but no one seems willing to tackle them head on, meanwhile time is passing by. It has now been six months since I last saw my mum, who still repeatedly asks for me.
It is time for a remedy to this matter, and I speak not only for myself but others in a similar situation
Regards