Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it compulsory for all residential nursing and care homes to have outdoor recreational space.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Government has no plans to make it compulsory for residential care settings to have outdoor recreational space but is committed to ensuring that local authorities offer a meaningful choice of adult social care services to people in their local area. That is why the Care Act 2014 places a duty on local authorities to shape their local markets and ensure that people have a range of high-quality, person-centred care and support options available to them, and that they can access the services that best meet their needs.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published guidance on improving the experience of care and support for people using care services and recommends that day and residential care settings should enable people to choose from a range of leisure activities that allow them to participate in a variety of aspects of daily life. This includes recreational activities that take place outside the home.
The Care Quality Commission, which monitors, inspects and regulates the quality of adult social care services, is also clear that everyone should have the right to person-centred care that is tailored to and meets their needs and preferences.