Care home visitor lockdown

[anxious annie]

IT was good to hear that your mum had a good quality of life in her care home @Helly68 . Yes you're right there needs to be more support and guidance thats. more direct for care homes to follow, rather than having it interpreted in different ways.
I hope Nicola Sturgeon will support testing for families, or I fear asymptomatic family members could take covid into the homes and then there will be furthe lockdowns with plenty of "I told you" this would happen.

 

[Wishing20]

It was announced this morning that 11,000 ipads are being provided to care homes 'as a gateway for residents to connect with loved ones'. We tried a couple of video calls to mum at the very start of lockdown but it ended up being too confusing for her as she kept looking round to see where I was

Government to give 11,000 iPads to help care homes during coronavirus second wave

Tablets will ‘stop spread of virus by reducing unnecessary visits’, say officials

www.independent.co.uk

Quote - unnecessary visits!! Shocking statement! All family visits are necessary! I despair at the lack of compassion by this Government towards our loved ones in Care Homes

 

[Bikerbeth]

Totally agree @Wishing20 regarding ‘unnecessary visit’
Sometimes technology does not succeed. I tried a Zoom call and I just saw Mum’s nose. As the staff member had to go ‘somewhere’ else Mum had no idea what to do and where to talk (she was trying to use it like a phone) and then she just put it down on a table in the lounge.

 

[northumbrian_k]

Whoever thinks that providing technology for video calls is a satisfactory and sufficient alternative to family visits knows nothing about dementia. Even with a member of staff telling her where to look my wife can't concentrate on a call for more than about 30 seconds. She never really 'got' technology even before dementia, so expecting her to be able to use it now that she has advanced Alzheimer's Disease is a non-starter. So many of her thoughts are about her childhood. There was very little technology in the 1940s.

 

[Louise7]

An update on my previous post, easing of restrictions have today been announced in respect of care home visits in Scotland:

Care home visiting restrictions eased

Visiting times extended for friends and family.

www.gov.scot

 

[anxious annie]

Thanks for posting @Louise7 . I hope the government, Boris etc read this and undersrand why the decisions were made and change the restrictions here in England. I hope care homes stay safe in Scotland, as I didn't see anything about testing family.

 

[Louise7]

I hope I hope care homes stay safe in Scotland, as I didn't see anything about testing family.

No, the guidance makes no mention of family being tested. The Scottish government has said “The changes will be implemented once care homes are satisfied they can be delivered safely” and it appears from this article that there will still be homes who will not be permitting indoors visits at present due to safety concerns:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-54507488

 

[anxious annie]

That's the trouble really @Louise7 , the care homes will be scared, so this may make very little difference for many. The government needs to realise this , and then support the care homes with testing family members and providing indemnity insurance, or I fear nothing will change.

 

[Izzy]

This is from the Scottish Governemtn website -

Coronavirus (COVID-19): adult care homes visiting guidance

Scottish Government guidance on visiting care homes during the pandemic plus tools and resources on visiting, and supporting residents in homes with COVID-19.

www.gov.scot

There are links to letters of guidance within it.

 

[Louise7]

That's the trouble really @Louise7 , the care homes will be scared, so this may make very little difference for many. The government needs to realise this , and then support the care homes with testing family members and providing indemnity insurance, or I fear nothing will change.

No further details at present but apparently the government is going to run a 'pilot scheme' with regards to family members being treated as key workers:

Ms Whately told MPs a new pilot scheme would investigate if family members can be treated like key workers, including with regular tests, allowing them to enter homes more often.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...ting-visiting-winter-key-worker-b1012935.html

 

[anxious annie]

I just hope @Louise7 that the pilot scheme goes ahead without delay, I imagine Helen' idea of very soon, maybe different to those of loved ones in care homes. Am still waiting for the testing of family members mentioned by Matt Hancock back in July. Think it will be a long time before anything is rolled out, but at least it is a step in the right direction..