North Yorkshire care homes reopen their doors
Care homes across North Yorkshire are opening their doors once again today as part of the roadmap out of lockdown restrictions.
Last updated 8th Mar 2021
Care homes across North Yorkshire are opening their doors once again today.
It will see one designated person who will be allowed to visit and even hold hands.
There are strict rules though like having to have a coronavirus test first and wearing PPE.
Mike Padgham, who is Chair of North Yorkshire's Independent Care Group, said:
"Today is the beginning of the easing of lockdown so that means for the first time as well as schools going back care homes can have one visitor per resident starting today, so that's a momentous time really for people who have waited perhaps 12 months or more to see their loved ones.
"I think they're very pleased to be reunited because in many cases particularly those who have dementia have sometimes forgotten what their loved ones look like, so to actually see them and hold their hands safely with PPE on it makes so much difference to them, so a lot of tears but a lot of joy at the same time.
"There can only be one person per resident at the moment and it would be time limited. You have to have a lateral flow test and it has to be negative before you can see your relative and you have to wear full PPE. You are able to hold hands but no hugging or kissing.
"If things go according to plan and we're only at the very early stages then I believe next month it may be possible for two people to come per family but we're not there yet. We've got to see that these infections remain low and obviously we have to do this cautiously, so not every care home has been able to do it yet as each care home is different but we're making progress.
"It's got to be appointment based because really the visitors shouldn't overlap with each other so you've got to have a time between one visitor and another visitor. With Mother's Day coming up in a few days time, it's going to be extremely challenging and not everybody can see their loved ones unfortunately so we're just asking for a bit more patience please.