Age Cymru backs call for action to support safe care home visits

We welcomed the statement issued by the Older People’s Commissioner today calling for renewed action to enable safe visits to care homes in Wales

Restrictions on care home visits have had a major impact on the lives of both the older people living in residential care and their loved ones this year.  Contact with our family and friends is important to all of us; it is especially important for residents living with dementia as isolation has shown to accelerate the condition.

Age Cymru’s chief executive Victoria Lloyd says: “We hope that by working together Welsh government, Public Health Wales, local authorities and care homes can find effective solutions that balance the risk of visiting with the risks associated with isolating residents within homes.

“The use of PPE, testing, social distancing, effective hygiene practices and outdoor visits all need to be considered. Equally important, care homes need to include residents and their families in any decision making processes.

“Working together it should be possible to put in place plans that accommodate safe visiting whether that requires additional support for infection control, increasing testing capacity and a quicker turnaround of results, or offering support to make structural changes to buildings where necessary.”