I am not worried about getting back to normal, I just want to see my Mum before she dies.........
Ask for an individual risk assessment.
The Government recognises that visiting is crucially important for maintaining the health and wellbeing and quality of life for care home residents and also vital for family to maintain life-long relationships with their loved ones.
[ Government Guidance - Visiting care homes during COVID-19, Updated 12 January 2021
https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...icies-for-visiting-arrangements-in-care-homes ]
Statistics show that the average length of stay in a care home is about two years. So time is running out for many care home residents to be able to meaningfully resume seeing family members.
Notwithstanding the current lockdown restrictions, the law as at 6 January 2020 explicitly permits without exception a close family member to visit a person staying in a care home.
[ The Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (All Tiers) (England) Regulations 2020.
Exceptions to restrictions on leaving home - Exception 4 at 2(2)(7) of Schedule 3A.
Exceptions in relation to indoor gatherings - Exception 2 at 7(3) of Schedule 3A.
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/1374/contents ]
The care home visiting permission in the lockdown regulations is supported by the Government Guidance, which states that contact visits in exceptional circumstances such as end of life should always be supported and enabled. The Guidance now defines end of life care as the last year of life, not just towards the very end of life.
People are considered to be approaching the end of life when they are likely to die within the next 12 months, recognising that this is not always possible to predict. This includes people who have an advanced incurable illness such as dementia and are frail and have co-existing conditions that mean they are at risk of dying from a sudden crisis in their condition.
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https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/end-of-life-care/what-it-involves-and-when-it-starts/ ]
The Government Guidance provides for care homes to undertake individual risk assessments, taking into account the rights, well-being and needs of the individual residents, and that decisions should be taken in light of providers’ legal duties under the Equality Act and Human Rights Act. It also states that visiting decisions should involve the resident and their family.