Care home residents in England can hold hands with one indoor visitor but no hugs or kisses allowed

Care home residents in England can have one named person visit them regularly from 8 March and can even hold hands but no closer contact like hugs and kisses will be allowed, the government has said.

As part of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's roadmap to ease lockdown restrictions, residents will be able to meet one individual but visitors must wear PPE and be tested for COVID-19 before entering a care home.

While holding hands is allowed, the guidance discourages closer contact, which is causing confusion for care providers.

The government stated ‘hand holding is allowed but named visitors will be asked to avoid any closer contact’. It stated close contact care can only be given by visitors who provide assistance - such as help dressing, eating or washing.

Hugs and kisses can 'put lives at risk'

Professor Deborah Sturdy, chief nurse for adult social care, said in the government's announcement published on Saturday (20 February): “I know how much people want to visit, hug and kiss their loved ones but doing so can put lives at risk so we would ask people to continue to follow the rules.

“This is a first step towards resuming indoor visits and we all hope to be able to take further steps in the future”.

Mike Padgham, chairman of the Independent Care Group, said: "We need some clarification - for example, the announcement says holding hands will be allowed but warns against 'close contact'. How is that going to be possible? There is going to have to be some very close but compassionate supervision of these visits."

James White, head of Public Affairs and Campaigns at Alzheimer’s Society, also called for clarity from the government "on how this will work in practice, and whether it will allow for flexibility in exceptional circumstances, such as an older loved one needing support to visit".

He also urged for "restrictions to be eased further as soon as possible, to allow sons, daughters and grandchildren to see their loved ones too".

Outdoor, pod and screen visits in care homes can continue (in line with government guidance which was already in place during lockdown) resulting in chances for residents to see more than just the one person they nominate.

While only one named person can make the indoor visits, care homes can (at their discretion) allow more than one visitor in exceptional circumstances.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: "I know how important visiting a loved one is and I’m pleased we will soon be in a position for people to be carefully and safely reunited with loved ones who live in care homes.

“We need to make sure we keep the infection rate down, to allow greater visiting in a step by step way in the future.”

While coronavirus cases remain high, the number of infections is falling and the UK’s vaccination programme has seen every care home resident offered a jab, with 17 million vaccinations carried out in total.

However, vaccination is not mandatory for visitors and will not be a condition of visiting. NHS England data reveals three in 10 care home staff have not received their first coronavirus vaccine.

HC-One: 'We certainly feel very ready now for visiting to resume'

James Tugendhat, chief executive of HC-One, Britain's largest care home provider, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Visiting is obviously a fundamental and necessary part of care home life and we certainly feel very ready now for visiting to resume, with lateral flow testing, with vaccination, with PPE, with infection control."

Nadra Ahmed, executive chair of the National Care Association (NCA), told the media at the weekend that a major challenge for care homes was getting sufficient staff to manage testing and extra cleaning.

Nadra Admed told BBC Breakfast: "Staff resource is our biggest problem. We have staff who are exhausted, we've got staff who are going down with COVID and also getting long COVID."

Ms Ahmed has revealed many of her branches are reporting 10-15 per cent sickness absences which will impact how care homes manage the new reopening strategy.

NCA: Insurance 'still hasn't been sorted out by government'

"We have no insurance in our services for COVID-related risks - that still hasn't been sorted out by government in any way, so there will be all sorts of things about mitigating risks, but the default is we want to enable this visiting."

Vic Rayner, executive director of the National Care Forum (NCF) – a member association for not-for-profit social care providers said care homes have been “raising the urgent need to reconnect people with their loved ones for many, many months now.

“It is hugely important that this next step recognises the role of essential caregivers and ensures that people living within care homes have regular, sustained and meaningful contact with one of the most important people in their lives.“

The government has said it will continue to provide free tests and PPE to support the scheme and has already distributed £1.1billion from the infection control fund, an extra £149million to support rapid testing and visits and £120 million to increase staffing.

Minister for Care Helen Whately said: “One of the hardest things during this pandemic has been seeing families desperate to be reunited with their loved ones kept apart and I absolutely want to bring them back together.

“Throughout this pandemic we have sought clinical guidance on how visits can be conducted safely.

“We had to restrict the majority of visiting when the new variant was discovered but we have done all we can to enable visits to continue in some form. That includes providing funding towards costs of screens and PPE.”

Liz Kendall, shadow minister for health and social care, added: "Over this period, ministers have repeatedly failed to grasp how important families are for the physical and mental health of care home residents, and the appalling impact preventing visits has caused."

In Scotland, care home residents will be allowed up to two designated visitors once a week, under Scottish government guidelines scheduled to be published on Wednesday 24 February.