Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has issued guidance to care homes on prohibiting window visits by relatives.
Receiving visitors is a very important part of care home life. Maintaining some opportunities for visiting to take place is critical for supporting the health and wellbeing of residents and their relationships with friends and family.
On 5 November we published guidance to enable COVID-19-secure visits to take place for care home residents while national restrictions are in force. This guidance encourages providers, supported by local professionals, families and the wider community, to provide appropriate visiting opportunities, that balance these important benefits against the continued priority of preventing infections to protect staff and residents.
This guidance states that window visits can take place.