Covid: Limited resumption of care home visits is a welcome sign of progress – Steve Cardownie

The news that care home deaths linked to Covid-19 have fallen to a level last recorded in October (according to National Records of Scotland) is welcome news indeed.

During the Covid lockdown, people have been unable to go inside care homes to visit relatives (Picture: SWNS)

The NRS evidence demonstrates that there has been a 62 per cent reduction in care home deaths where Covid-19 is a confirmed or contributory factor.

This, coupled with the Scottish government’s guidance on the resumption of care home visits, is a clear demonstration that the current lockdown and the vaccine roll-out is working and that a return to some form of normality in the not-too-distant future is a distinct possibility.

The guidance recommends that care homes can now resume indoor visiting for up to two visits per resident per week (and up to two designated visitors.) One person should visit at a time and care homes need to make arrangements to do this and meet safety conditions.

As my own mother stays in a care home in the Highlands and has not been able to see a family member up close for nigh on a year, I am only too well aware of how important this new guidance is.

At 97 years old, my mother faced the very real prospect of never interacting with her family ever again and a similar situation must exist for many families throughout Scotland who will be breathing a collective sigh of relief now that visits are once more allowed.

Some family members will have to wait for a further relaxation of the rules before they can visit loved ones but given the steady progress in combating this pandemic, hopefully it will not be too long.

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