This guidance sets out the government’s advice to support safe visiting. Visiting needs to be booked and numbers may vary so please confirm with Home Manager when booking a visit.

• every care home resident can have ‘named visitors’ who will be able to enter the care home for regular visits. There is no limit on the number of ‘named visitors’ that a single resident can have and no nationally set limit on the number who can visit in a single day
• every care home resident can choose to nominate an essential care giver who may visit the home to attend to essential care needs. The essential care giver should be enabled to visit in all circumstances, including if the care home is in outbreak (but not if the essential care giver or resident are COVID-positive)
• named visitors and residents are advised to keep physical contact to a minimum (excluding essential care givers). Physical contact like handholding is acceptable if hand washing protocols are followed. Close personal contact such as hugging presents higher risks but will be safer if it is between people who are double vaccinated, without face-to-face contact, and there is brief contact only
• care homes can also continue to offer visits to friends or family members through arrangements such as outdoor visiting, rooms with substantial screens, visiting pods, or from behind windows
• We offer visiting across the week, to include weekends as long as visitors are able to provide evidence of a  negative LFT test result that they have carried out themselves and logged prior to their arrival. There is no facility for visitor on site testing and visitors will need to have undertaken this themselves. LFT tests are available for visitors to collect and take home for their own use.  Essential care givers continue to need weekly PCR tests that they undertake on site as well as twice weekly LFT tests.  All visitors  will also be asked to provide an updated signed declaration as part of our covid secure precautions, which is available from reception.  Visitors are requested to pre-book 30 minute visits in advance via reception and are available on a limited basis due to slot availability.  

Becoming and Essential Care Giver and undertaking LFT and PCR testing

For some residents a visit with a greater degree of personal care may be central to maintaining their immediate health and wellbeing.

In such cases, in addition to the single named visitor and with the agreement of the care home, the visitor will be enabled and supported to provide this care and they will be able to visit more often. They will have access to the same PCR and rapid lateral flow testing and PPE arrangements as a member of care home staff.

Each resident will be different, and the exact arrangements will need to be agreed between the care home, resident and their family (with professional support if helpful). This should follow an individualised assessment of the resident’s needs.”

Should you feel this is an approach to visiting and spending time with your loved on that you would like to explore will you please contact the home manager to discuss the specific needs of the resident and your desire to be more involved in their person care on a regular basis.

End of Life Visiting in exceptional circumstances

We have been facilitating such visits throughout the pandemic and will continue to do so.

We will communicate with you as early as we can when we believe that your loved one is reaching the final stages of their life and we will give you the opportunity to spend more personal time with your loved one at this stage.

To enable this to happen safely for the benefit of everyone all the standard rules of visiting above will need to be applied and additionally we require you to undertake a LFT prior to entering the home. At the discretion of the home manager, the visiting will not be pre-booked, there will be no time limit on the visits and there will be no limit to the number of visits you may have during this time.  

We reserve the right to refuse entry to any visitor if there are any signs of symptoms and/or there is a refusal to co-operate with the arrangements and requests we have put in place to safeguard everyone at this difficult time. Your understanding and cooperation is appreciated. Thank you.

To accompany this policy the following are also attached.

• The LFT guidance and instructions
• The pre-entry to visiting questionnaire that should be completed prior to each visit.
• The visiting slots available through each week.

Additional Information for 3. Personal Contact visiting with prior LFT.

• Please ensure that you have read the LFT test guidance information provided:
  • https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/958773/care-home-lfd-self-test-guidance-v04-02_2.pdf

• At the care home you will be provided with 2 sessions of training on how to undertake the test.
•  1^st session will be supervised support taking you through each stage of the test process and recording of the result.
• 2^nd session will be overview watching you perform the test and record the result independently. On each of these occasions if the test result is negative a visit may proceed. Each training session may take at least 45 minutes and could be up to 1 hour.
• Due to the lack of available free space within the home, the length of time the tests take and the use of LFTs in other settings (such as schools for pupils over the age of 11) we require the visitor to undertake the regular tests at your home, prior to arriving at the care home for your visit. You will need to bring the result cartridge with you, or alternatively you may carry out the test and log the results yourself at the care home with some staff support.  
• The result will then be recorded by you on your phone or on a home computer or tablet. This is part of the responsibility and you really ought to be able to undertake this function independently if at all possible. If you are absolutely unable to undertake this action the home will record the result within the following 24 hours.
• You will be provided with an initial supply of 25 LFT kits (less the 2 training kits).
• A negative result produced from a LFT is NOT A GUARANTEE that you do not have COVID-19. All other infection control measures have to be carried out alongside the test.
• If you produce a positive result from the LFT you must not go to the care home but inform them of the result. You must inform NHS Test and Trace and you should arrange to have a PCR test to confirm the LFT result.