BASW England supports Joint Committee on Human Rights on care home visits

Today (3 February 2021) the parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights wrote to the Government, calling on them to end the blanket ban on family visitation in residential care settings.

The Committee found that relatives remain an essential part of care for so many older and disabled people in care homes - as it helps them to keep their memories alive, in touch with the outside world, and it reassures them of their continued place in the family.

In addition to the letter to the Government, the Committee has also drafted a statutory instrument which would end the blanket ban on visitation. It would instead require care homes to allow visits by a “person significant to the service user”.

The right of family visitation is an issue that BASW England has advocated since the pandemic began, as part of its Test, Access, Rights campaign. This campaign also calls for clearer guidance ensuring social workers have safe and the necessary access to care homes that they need to carry out their statutory responsibilities.

BASW England is urging the Government to accept this statutory instrument and make it law, and reunite families with their loved ones.

If you would like to support this campaign, please write to your MP and ask them to write to Matt Hancock telling him to end the blanket ban on family visitation. You can find your MP and their email address by searching for them here: https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP