Allowing safe visitation to care homes

To set up a safe area where you can see your relation /friend in a care home , this could be behind a glass screen and in an area set aside from the staff as well .
You could enter through a door operated by a pass code issued by the care home at a set time and for set period of time .
An idea like this or similar I'm sure could be implemented as long as there was a minimal risk of any infection being passed.

Why the contribution is important

This idea is important both for the patients well being and the friend or relative as
Many people in care home are very old and frail and could also have dementia , unless there is human contact with relatives / friends the patients health will detoriate as well as possibly having a negative effect on firiends and relatives as well .

by Alistair on May 05, 2020 at 04:13PM

Current Rating

Average rating: 4.1
Based on: 9 votes

Comments

  • Posted by Sophiemackay91 May 05, 2020 at 17:14

    Great idea

  • Posted by SconeBurns May 05, 2020 at 20:03

    I think that there needs to be some form of controlled access to seeing relatives in care homes, whether it be through panes of glass looking in from outside or within the building itself. Alternatively visitors could wear full PPE.

    As things stand, care homes have become fancy prisons for residents who have not passed over the threshold of their care home grounds, in many cases, for many many weeks now. This cannot be good for the mental health of the elderly.

    I know of at least one care home where the residents are taken out for a short trip in the care home mini bus to allow them to 'escape' for a little while.

    The mental health of care home residents is every bit as important as the mental health of those outside care homes. Ultimately the question has to be asked, 'How long do we keep residents imprisoned if this disease is with us indefinitely?' Surely the residents capable of deciding themselves should perhaps be given some choice in the matter, and those that want to remain cocooned/isolated in the care home can make that choice themselves. (At the moment, carers in care homes are not obliged to wear masks, for example, if there is no infection or suspected infection in the care home. So as things stand at the moment, the risk to those in care homes from staff members is only slightly better compared to the man/woman on the street at the moment who goes to a supermarket or uses public transport. )

    One idea might be to say that if a resident decided to go beyond the bounds of the care home, they would have to self isolate for 14 days in the care home before coming into contact with the general care home population. I really don't know how workable this would be, but it might be possible in some care homes to partition the care home into those that 'went outside' into riskier areas beyond the grounds of the care home and those who have chosen to stay, in effect isolated. I do not know how realistic it would be to operate that in practise though.

    Serious thought needs to be given re the needs of residents of care homes and their families going forward. Indefinite lock down for care home residents able to make their own decisions is not necessarily an option if we are talking years of isolation. These are people with the same rights as the rest of us.

  • Posted by Nell5a May 05, 2020 at 23:33

    This has to be tackled somehow as it's so important to the welfare of the care home resident as well as their loved ones.

    I've heard that levels of distress are rising in residents with dementia. With cognitive impairment, they just don't have the capacity to understand what is happening - but no longer get to do those which used to bring enjoyment, albeit only in the moment : the trips out in the car, a cuddle, a walk etc

    In better weather, could it not be possible to allow residents' usual visitors the opportunity to meet in ways that maximise protection for staff, other residents, as well as the resident themselves e.g. designated outside spaces. Visits could be timetabled to limit numbers.
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