A helpline team has been hearing from families across Scotland struggling to secure a visit with their loved one or to cope with how they have changed since they last saw them.

Alzheimer’s Scotland’s Action on Rights team was set up at the end of last month to support families with loved ones in a care home in Scotland to able to have ‘meaningful visits’ and to support understanding of the government’s care home guidance.

Many of those who have called Action on Rights say they have been experiencing emotional distress from not having had meaningful contact with family members or friends living in a care home.

Others have needed emotional and practical support to prepare for their first visit for months, particularly when it came to preparing for how their loved one may have deteriorated since they were last together.

The team says it has also seen significant differences in how the guidance, designed to facilitate ‘meaningful visits’, has been interpretated and implemented by some care homes.

Some callers reported care homes had been creating their own guidelines that departed from national advice, while others said visits has simply not been allowed at all, or that communication between the care home and family and friends of residents had been poor.

Some callers reported that additional restrictions had been placed on their visit, including a time limit of just 30 minutes.

‘We know there is a long way to go,’ Alzheimer’s Scotland says, ‘and there are still challenges in accessing meaningful visits, however the Action on Rights team are making a difference.

‘The team have been supporting people to confidently speak with the care home, and have been liaising directly with care homes to help facilitate essential or designated visits, which has had positive impact on their and their loved ones wellbeing.

‘The team have provided a great deal of emotional support and have received feedback that this has helped to reduce anxiety.

‘Families and relatives have been telling us that there has been a sense of comfort, not only in sharing their experiences but also being listened to, with some solutions being identified following interaction with the Action on Rights Team.’

In January, former nurse and leading dementia expert Professor June Andrews told healthandcare.scot that a different approach to blanket bans on care home visits was desperately needed to stop them having an “awful impact” on residents’ and families health and wellbeing.

 

If you or anyone you know might require support from Action on Rights team, call 0808 808 3000 or email actiononrights@alzscot.org

Read more: Indoor care home visiting resumes; Care group asked to rethink vaccinated-only visiting; Care home visits need ‘case-by-case’ approach

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