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This guidance applies from 16 August 2021.
Welcoming anyone into care homes from the community inevitably brings risk of COVID-19 transmission. However, these risks can be managed and mitigated, and they should be balanced against the importance of visiting and the benefits it brings to care home residents and their families.
Vaccination is one of our best defences to combat infection. It significantly reduces the transmission of the virus, particularly following 2 doses. It is strongly recommended that all visitors and residents take the opportunity to be vaccinated before conducting visits.
Read the full government guidance.
This guidance applies from 16 August 2021.
Even as vaccine coverage increases, there are still risks involved in visits out. It’s important that care homes, residents, family and friends take steps to manage and mitigate these risks.
This guidance sets out advice on the approach that care homes should take to planning and supporting visits out of the home as safely as possible, where residents wish to make them. It explains the measures that should be taken – by the home, the resident and others taking part in the visit – to manage the risks that residents returning from visits bring infection back into the care home with them.
Decisions about steps to mitigate the risk of an individual resident’s visits out of a care home should be taken with the resident’s assessed needs and circumstances considered. The care home should balance the benefits of visits out of the care home against a consideration of the risks to others in the home, where necessary.
It is important that the resident and where appropriate their family are involved in discussions throughout this process. If undertaking a visit out is not possible without self-isolation on return because of the risk to the individual and other residents and staff, care providers should communicate the reasons for this decision clearly to the resident and where appropriate their family.
Page updated: 19 October 2021
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