Families say loved ones feel ‘owned’ by care home providers over visitation bans

That is according to Julieanne McNally, who runs the Care Home Advice and Support NI organisation that has been campaigning for visiting restrictions to be eased.

And a former Northern Ireland health minister, Jim Wells has described as “heartbreaking” the situation facing residents effectively “locked up in their own homes”.

Both Mr Wells and Ms McNally were speaking out after Older People’s Commissioner Eddie Lynch said the continued denial of visits by care homes may constitute a breach of human rights.

Mr Wells, whose wife Grace lives in a nursing home in Co Down, said: “What the older people’s commissioner is saying is entirely true. In my situation, we do not get a visit once a week. We get a visit once every three weeks for one member of the family in what’s called a ‘pod’. You come in from the garden where there’s a screen between you and your loved one. You talk for 20 minutes, often with a nurse present. Obviously you’re splitting those visits between family, and I’ve got two daughters and a son, I’m lucky if I get a visit every three months. It’s not acceptable.”

He continued: “The sad situation is that many people in nursing homes are coming to the end of their life, and it’s very unfortunate that if someone is passing away their loved ones may not have seen them for some time.

“That is absolutely heartbreaking. People are being effectively locked up in their own homes. Even prisoners are permitted visitation.”

On vaccines, Mr Wells said: “Patricia Donnelly [head of Northern Ireland’s vaccination programme] and her team has done a fabulous job in getting all the care homes done early, and then done twice.

“The danger from coronavirus that there was during the early part of the pandemic, before vaccination, has passed.”

Ms McNally said: “We are seeing the same things as what Eddie Lynch is reporting, and we are seeing care homes that have blanket bans.

“Many older people are prisoners in their own homes, effectively. A lot of our families will say they feel like their loved ones are ‘owned’ by the care home. It is shocking.”

She added: “It is about time we started looking at a Pathway to Recovery for the care home sector. We can’t foresee any reason why care home providers won’t open their doors.”