Representatives of families who cannot visit their loved ones normally in care homes are meeting Scotland’s Health Secretary today.

The 500-strong group, which has come together under the umbrella of Care Home Relatives Scotland, held a protest at the Parliament earlier this week.

They say hundreds of people are being prevented from visiting their loved ones in care homes because of the covid-19 pandemic, while others who are allowed short visits are prevented from touching or hugging.

Cathie Russell, who leads the group, says the six months of being unable to see her mum Rosie, aged 88, have been the hardest of her life.

“They have allow us Skype calls and window visits,” she said.

“Since outdoor visits have been allowed I have found them better than nothing but they don’t begin to rekindle the cosy times we had together before lock down.

“My mum liked me in her room, like her own wee living room, tidying her drawers, picking socks, sewing on labels, looking at photo albums and listening to music.

“She always raises her hands to get a hug - and I have to tell her I am not allowed - even though I am wearing the same PPE as staff.

“If you do touch them - you risk them being put into isolation.

“It’s been the hardest six months of my life. I lie awake every night thinking about her. She deserves so much better - she was a home care worker in Glasgow for years and was always so kind to everyone."

Members of the group are proposing that family members be given the status of essential carers.

“Since the covid-19 pandemic, most of us have been unable to see husbands, wives, mums, dads and other relatives who have always been a huge part of our lives.

“Even though there is now limited visiting, we are no longer able to provide the care and companionship that we always have,” they say on their Facebook page.

The group says a lack of human contact is “robbing their relatives of a meaningful life”.

Meanwhile a petition to all the UK governments asking for a system where a designated family member can be trained in using PPE, so they can visit a named care home regularly, has received over 15,000 signatures.

The plight of families was raised in the Scottish parliament at First Minister’s questions yesterday.

Labour’s health spokesperson, Monica Lennon MSP told the parliament that the issue goes far wider than making local arrangements for visits. It is about “recognising and reinstating family caregivers as equal partners in their loved ones’ care”, she said.

“We all want to see the virus being eliminated, but we also need to address the psychological and physical harms of separating care home residents from their families. Experts and campaigners have called such separation a ‘hidden catastrophe’.”

Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie raised the case of Cathie, who he had met at the protest, and can only meet her mother for 30 minutes a week – with a plastic screen separating them.

“Extend testing, give Cathie PPE, check her temperature, make her self-isolate—do whatever it takes to keep people safe—but let her in,” he said.

Nicola Sturgeon said, while some 40% of care homes have now been able to reopen their doors to indoor visiting, she hopes many more will follow suit.

“There will be few of us who do not have some experience of family or friends who have been in care homes. We know that visiting is a fundamental part of the health and wellbeing of those who live in our care homes, but that is particularly true for people with dementia.

“It is hugely difficult for all of us to see and hear the distress of families who are not able to interact with loved ones in the normal way.

“However, the restrictions are ultimately in place to try to help us protect care home residents and save lives. It is important that, as we take those decisions, we continue to recognise the risks of communal living and the risks of infections getting into care homes.”

The First Minister added that the guidance is under review and ministers will consider the proposals from family members seriously.

“I take all those issues seriously and probably no decisions have been more difficult and at times more genuinely upsetting than the range of decisions that we have had to take around care homes.

“We all want to allow families to visit normally as quickly and safely as possible, so we will continue to take these difficult decisions with the best of intentions but the greatest care as well.”

 

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