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People will be given the legal right to visit their relatives in care homes and providers will be prevented from threatening those who complain with eviction under new legislation proposed last week.
Lord Hunt of King’s Heath has introduced a Private Members’ Bill in the House of Lords in an attempt to spur ministers into action, designed to stop or limit visits to care homes due to Covid to a small number, no more than two and a half. Years after the first lockdown began.
Campaigners say other care providers are using outdated guidance to limit visits, which can play a vital role in maintaining the wellbeing of dementia sufferers and other diseases of ageing. Some say they have been threatened with eviction after their relatives complained.
However, care providers have urged caution over enacting the new law, saying they are concerned that the majority of care homes that allow and encourage visits could be unfairly penalised.
Lord Hunt admitted the private members’ bill was unlikely to become law without government backing, but said Care Minister Helen Whatley had “expressed an interest” in the bill at a meeting last month. She previously asked officials from the Department of Health and Social Care to look into how the issue could be tackled and told MPs she was “on the case”.
“Government ministers seem to have an appetite to do something about the visiting problem in some care homes where, incredibly, people still find it difficult to actually visit relatives,” Lord Hunt said. the observer.
Peer lost his mother and father-in-law in the epidemic, and both lived in a care home.
By mid-November, 102 care homes in England had informed the government that they were not allowing visits at all and 98 were only allowing visits in exceptional circumstances, with 12,712 homes allowing visits across the country.
During the Covid outbreak, official government guidance suggests that homes can make “proportionate changes” to visiting but “one visitor at a time per resident should always be able to visit within the care home”.
Campaigners believe official figures underestimate the scale of the problem. The Relatives and Residents Association and Rights for Residents say some care providers have banned grandchildren and placed age limits on visitors. They also object to other restrictions, such as allowing visits only for short periods, and not allowing people to see their parents, husbands or wives in their rooms.
Helen Wildbore, director of the R&RA, said: “It’s been six weeks since the Care Minister promised she was “on the case” and working on options to ensure people in need of care are not cut off from the vital support of their family carers. is
“Lord Hunt’s Bill will be a ray of hope for families desperate to see change. There is clear cross-party, cross-parliamentary support for a new legal right for a care supporter.
“The Care Minister has the political will to bring about change but we need action now. Before it is too late for many more people. With many older people facing their last Christmas, this is extremely urgent.”
But Nadra Ahmed, chair of the National Care Association, said: “If the law is passed, 98% of providers who comply could find themselves in breach of something that is probably out of their control.
“We have to think about the unintended consequences of this, so I would urge caution. And I want to be absolutely clear that we see visitation as an integral part of support for the people we care about.
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