The guidance now published covers visiting and testing, which are outlined below. You can read the detailed guidance at www.gov.uk and search for care home visiting.
The biggest change in the guidance is that visitors will no longer need to test before visiting as tests are not being provided free of charge for visitors. However, we would ask you to seriously consider continuing to test before visiting to avoid bringing Covid-19 into your loved one’s home. We appreciate this would place an additional financial burden on you at a time when living costs are rising, but would ask you to think about this, to avoid your loved one’s home potentially having to close due to an outbreak and in terms of the health of all residents. Sadly we will not be given enough LFD tests to cover testing for all visitors going forward.
The exception to this will be visitors who provide personal care and they will be added to the home’s testing schedule to do no more than two tests a week.
All visitors will still need to wear a face mask when they come into the home.
There should not normally be any restrictions to visits in or out of care homes, including the number of visitors, when there are no restrictions due to outbreaks. This means visiting is almost back to as it was before the pandemic.
Under the guidance, the term ‘essential care giver’ is now no longer used. Instead, it says every resident can have one visitor who can visit in all circumstances, including during periods of isolation and outbreak. End of life visits will always be facilitated
Testing for residents is now to only be done if they are showing symptoms of Covid-19 as regular asymptomatic testing for residents is being withdrawn.
Residents who have symptoms of Covid-19 will need to isolate and take two LFD tests 48 hours apart. They can stop isolating if both tests are negative. If positive, they should isolate until they have had two consecutive LFD results taken 24 hours apart at the earliest from days 5 and 6 (Day 0 is the day they test positive or first develop symptoms). If they continue to receive positive test results up to day 10, they can stop isolating after day 10. Any individual who is unable to test should isolate for the full 10 days Residents who are close contacts of a COVID-19 case do not need to isolate or test.
If your loved one needs to go into hospital, they will not need to self-isolate when discharged back to the care home, subject to a negative PCR or LFD. They will, however, need to self-isolate for 10 days if they have been discharged from a part of the hospital where there is an active outbreak. They can end this isolation early by having two negative LFD tests 24 hours apart from days 5 and 6 onwards.
For those who care for your loved one, testing is being reduced to twice a week and using LFD tests. Following a positive result, the care home team will need to test for five days.
As before, symptomatic staff will need to stay off work until they have had two consecutive negative tests or until either ten days have passed with a single negative test or 14 days if their test continues to say they are positive.
There are currently no changes to the need for visitors to test before visiting in Scotland and the testing regime for residents and staff remains unchanged. PPE will continue to be worn.
This guidance is due to continue until 17 April 2022, when it will be reviewed by the Scottish government.
The guidance can be found here https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-adult-care-homes-visiting-guidance/
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