Care home visiting changes hailed as ‘another step in right direction’

The current Health Minister Robin Swann announced the changes on Thursday morning, which remove restrictions on the number of visitors allowed and permit overnight stays.

A limit on the number of visitors from different households remains, however, with groups of visitors required to be from no more than two households at a time.

South Down MLA Jim Wells, who held the post of Health Minister from 2014 to 2015, spent much of the pandemic visiting his wife’s care home and speaking to her through a downstairs window because he was not allowed inside.

He said the latest changes are a far cry from having to “stand at the window on a cold, wet, miserable winter’s night peering in through glass and shouting to be heard.”

Speaking to the News Letter, Mr Wells said: “It is another step in the right direction but I accept the Department has to be careful. In the initial period of the pandemic a significant proportion of the fatalities were in care homes. That has changed, quite dramatically.”

He continued: “I think it’s a very welcome step forward.

“I have to be honest and say that the previous arrangement that had been put in place, known as the care partner scheme, had been very flexible and helpful.

“The home that my wife is in is in lockdown because someone in the home has tested positive, but at least I can go in for a one hour visit twice a week.

“That’s a huge step forward from where we were last year. It’s nothing like as tight as what it was.

“When there isn’t a lockdown, you are allowed three one-hour visits and three outings of two hours each per week.

“We found that was almost back to normal, apart from the masks, the apron, the gloves and all that - but you get used to that.”

Announcing the changes, Mr Swann said: “This is a positive step forward and something that I know people have been wanting to see for some time. It is down to the effectiveness of our COVID-19 vaccination programme and the reduced threat from the Omicron variant that we have been able to progress to the next step of the pathway.

“However it’s important that we remain mindful of the risk that Covid presents and that visitors should continue to follow the public health advice. We would ask visitors to continue to wear face coverings, maintain good hand hygiene and take lateral flow tests.”

The changes also mean the ‘care partner’ scheme is being extended to hospitals and hospices.

The scheme involves a nominated person being permitted one-to-one visits on a regular basis.