Our impact: Easing visiting restrictions after the pandemic
We contributed to a consultation about updating Care Quality Commission (CQC) Visiting Guidance looking at easing restrictions – based on our findings from research in 2022 - and the Government has now introduced rules stating:
- Care homes, hospitals and hospices must support people who use their services to receive visits in person from people they want to see,
- Care homes must make sure people using their service do not feel they are stopped or put off from going on visits outside the home if they want to,
- Hospitals or hospices must let people bring someone with them to day appointments if they want.
In 2022, we investigated whether easing of visiting restrictions and rules put in place during the pandemic had been adequately communicated to families, carers and visitors when measures lifted. We discovered this was not the case and, in response, local providers created guides to provide clarity about visiting.
We then shared the views and opinions we had captured in this care home visiting research, when we provided our response to the Government’s visiting guidance consultation.
This shows how listening to local people’s voices and then amplifying these to high-level decision makers can have a real impact on national issues and why sharing your experiences with us is so important.
The new Care Quality Commission Regulation now states that everyone should expect care homes, hospitals and hospices to do everything they can to enable people to receive in-person visitors (or to go out on visits), as well as ensuring people have accompaniment to appointments if required.
The Regulation guidance says that, very rarely, a service may need to make some changes or controls that mean visiting in person is not possible. This should hardly ever happen and any restrictions should be removed as soon as possible.
It also states that services should avoid making changes to controls for everyone (called blanket decisions), or changes that stay in place for a long time. Controls must be the least restrictive option available, communicated clearly and decided with the person using the service and their family, friends or advocates.
The CQC will be using this new Regulation to check that care homes, hospitals and hospices follow these rules.
If you want to provide feedback about local care homes, hospitals or hospices, you can go online to the Care Quality Commission or phone 03000 616 161.
