Jubilation As Indoor Visits Commence

Over the past week we have been proud to welcome families into our care homes to visit their loved ones in person. Following a challenging period of Government restrictions, care home visiting guidance in England and Scotland has been updated to enable services to open their doors for a nominated family member (two in Scotland) to visit their loved ones.

After a year of virtual meetups and window visits, the moment to hold hands and be close to loved ones couldn’t be bigger.

At St Stephens Care Home in Sandbach, the introduction of indoor visiting was met with jubilation as Gwen, a person we support, was able to hold the hand of her daughter, Margaret for the first time this year.

Speaking about visiting her Mum, Margaret said: “Words can’t explain how fantastic it was for the both of us. Mum held my hand so tightly and we had lots of smiles. It’s real and unreal at the same time. I can’t thank the team at the home enough for the unbelievable job they’ve done over the past year.”

Joanne Farrell, Home Manager at St Stephens, added: “It is so heart-warming to welcome family members into the home again. This is a massive milestone to reach, as it has been a tough time for everyone over the past year and this has given everyone such a lift.

“Our teams are working hard to support family visits and make it as easy as possible for them to see their loved ones, supplying additional PPE and giving information on testing prior to visiting.”

Martin McGuigan, Managing Director of EachStep Care at Community Integrated Care, said: “This is such an incredible moment. Throughout the Coronavirus pandemic, our charity has implemented a wide range of comprehensive measures to protect the people we support and our colleagues.

“We’ve consistently been reviewing Government guidance which has put restrictions on all our lives and has been especially difficult for the people we support and their loved ones. I’m delighted that we can start to see light at the end of the tunnel and we’re so proud to welcome back our extended family again.”