Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the guidance for visiting patients in (a) care homes and (b) hospices in respect of the covid-19 outbreak.

We regularly review and assess COVID-19 visiting guidance for inpatient settings (including hospices) and residential care home settings to ensure access to visitors, whilst balancing the risks and safety of patients and residents. Guidance has been informed by clinical advice throughout the pandemic in order to ensure it is up to date and effective in keeping outbreaks to a minimum whilst allowing residents and patients to have meaningful visits.

Guidance on visiting in care homes is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visiting-care-homes-during-coronavirus/update-on-policies-for-visiting-arrangements-in-care-homes.

The Department engages with partners, including Public Health England, representative organisations and care providers, to understand the impact and effectiveness of care home visiting guidance in terms of allowing some visiting whilst preventing incursion of infection in care homes wherever possible, and inform any updates required. The Care Quality Commission has reported limited instances of providers not being able to follow visiting guidance. There has been little evidence of increased outbreaks in care homes as a result of more visits.

Most hospices are independent, charitable organisations, with visiting policies at the discretion of the hospice manager. We produce guidance on testing in hospices, including for visiting, which is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-testing-for-hospices.

The Department, NHS England and NHS Improvement recognise the challenge hospices face in allowing families to spend as much time as possible with their loved one in the last few weeks of life while minimising the risks of COVID-19 transmission for other patients, visitors and staff. NHS England and NHS Improvement have published guidance on end of life care, including how COVID-19 may affect visitation, which is available at the following link: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/end-of-life-care/