Care homes welcome news that families with negative test will be able to visit
Care homes have welcomed news that visitors will be allowed by Christmas if they test negative for Covid, but concerns have been raised about the lack of resources provided.
MHA, which has care homes in Wolverhampton, Stafford, Rugeley and Birmingham, supports the intention to reunite residents with their family and friends.
But the company has said the guidance offers an "incomplete picture", with several grey areas and some contradictory advice, which the Government needs to clarify.
This includes uncertainty about the regulatory position and insurance implications of care home staff testing visitors, the status of additional testing for residents and staff and significant concerns about the lack of resources provided to deliver this new regime effectively.
Under the new guidance up to two visitors per resident will be tested twice a week and if they are negative they will be allowed to visit their loved one in person.
This is on top of an increase to the weekly testing of every resident and twice weekly testing of staff.
MHA chief executive, Sam Monaghan, said: “It is a great step forward that the government has listened to residents and their families kept apart during the pandemic and is making tests available. But to do so without providing the resources necessary is reckless.
“To carry out the volume of tests now required in care homes, we will need at least one more administrative staff member per home. We are talking about a considerable additional workload.
"The effect will be that frontline staff will be even further stretched with more time spent on testing, while continuing to deliver good quality care for our residents.
"We estimate that this will cost at least £700,000 to the end of March, money which will have to come out of our charitable income and funds."
One Tettenhall care home has been nominated to receive the first round of test kits.
Su Gallagher, general manager of Sunrise of Tettenhall, said: “Today’s announcement that family members who return a negative result for Covid-19, via rapid testing kits, can visit their loved ones is a positive step forward. Some care homes have been unable to facilitate family member visits for a long period of time, causing immense emotional distress for many residents and their loved ones.
“At Sunrise of Tettenhall, not only have we invested in these highly effective testing kits, but we have also been nominated to receive the first round of test kits provided by the government. This means we can initiate increased visiting for all residents right away. Guided by our ‘Nominated Person Protocol’, our residents are able to have meaningful contact with a nominated family member each week.
“As one of the first in the Sunrise Senior Living UK group of care homes to have rolled out this protocol, we now look forward to seeing the positive impact of re-introducing meaningful family visits at other care homes across the country.”
