New guidance says dying patients must be able to receive visits from family and friends during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Scottish Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, hospice charity Marie Curie and umbrella organisation Scottish Care say the guidelines are designed to ensure terminally ill patients are treated ‘humanely, compassionately and with dignity’ during the pandemic.

They want the Scottish Government to adopt the guidelines as a matter of urgency.

The principles say all patients in Scotland who are judged to be dying from covid-19 or other terminal conditions - within hours or days - must receive equal access to visits from family or friends.

“Decisions regarding the presence of family at the bedside of their dying relative are not simply matters of infection control,” says Professor Andrew Elder, President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and Geriatrician.

“And we should not permit them to be such. They are matters of our humanity; matters that define who we are, our understanding of what life is, and how our lives must end. We know how we will make people feel if we unnecessarily prevent them from being with a loved one at the time of their death.

“We do not need to make them feel that way; we can find ways to allow families to be together at this time. With personal protective equipment, social distancing, and isolation, family members can balance risk to themselves and others just as the caring professions do. We are calling on the Scottish Government to adopt our principles to support families to visit their loved ones at this sombre and difficult time.”

In the absence of a national approach to end of life visiting – something the organisations who constructed the guidelines say is essential – the new principles set out a path to allowing family or friends to safely visit dying patients using the correct personal protective equipment.

Chair of the Scottish Academy and GP, Dr Miles Mack says it is “absolutely essential” family and friends understand the access they should expect when visiting a dying patient, across all care settings including nursing and residential homes, hospices, and hospitals:

“But this must also be done in a way which protects healthcare staff, other patients, and visitors. That is why we have published these new guiding principles, which we hope will be adopted by all primary, secondary and community care settings in Scotland at the direction of the Scottish Government.”

Julie Pearce Chief Nurse, Executive Director of Quality & Caring Services with Marie Curie, highlights how important “that moment of goodbye” is between loved ones:

“Even during this pandemic, wherever possible, we should try to make this happen in person. The chance to say goodbye is so important and if missed can have a huge impact on the person’s last moments and their family and friend’s grief and bereavement.

“We can work with staff and families to ensure that PPE is in place to keep people as safe as possible. Where visiting in person is impossible then we know that staff are committed to facilitating virtual visits and making the connections with families in the best way they can, in a kind, compassionate and personal way.

“We fully endorse these guidelines published today, and hope that they are adopted by the Scottish Government and considered right across the UK.”

UK Government guidance on travel from home during pandemic has not explicitly stated that visits to a dying family member are allowed.

As a consequence, different interpretations of the guidance have meant some families have been entirely excluded from a loved one’s last days.

Yesterday UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced new steps would be introduced to allow close family members to see dying relatives “wherever possible”.

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