Following on from our previous communication relating to the new Care Quality Commission (CQC) fundamental standard on visiting and accompanying (Regulation 9A) which took effect on the 6th April 2024. The following guidance has also now been produced Supporting safer visiting in care homes during infectious illness outbreaks – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
These principles have been written for health protection practitioners and community infection prevention and control professionals, who have responsibility for advising on supporting safe visiting.However, they may also be useful for care home managers and providers who have responsibility for implementing outbreak management measures in adult social care homes. This guidance provides general principles to support advice and decision making for anyone involved in the provision of advice to adult social care homes. It provides a review of the issues which should be considered in safely planning and protecting visiting during outbreaks of infectious illness.
HCPA and HCC support this and also recognises that contact with relatives and friends is fundamental to care home residents’ health and wellbeing. There should not normally be any restrictions to visits into or out of a care home. However, during an infectious disease outbreak, health protection teams may in exceptional circumstances advise that providers reduce the number of people entering and leaving a care home to reduce the spread of infection. This should only happen if facilitating a visit would pose a significant risk to the health or wellbeing of someone in the care home premises, which cannot be mitigated through other precautions.