Dementia: Coronavirus

(asked on 23rd September 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to ensure people with dementia can have safe social contact with their family and friends during the covid-19 outbreak.


Answered by
Helen Whately Portrait
Helen Whately
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
This question was answered on 8th October 2020

The Government guidance ‘Coronavirus (COVID-19): Meeting with others safely (social distancing)’ provides guidance for seeing friends and family and can be used by people living with dementia and their family and friends. The guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-meeting-with-others-safely-social-distancing/coronavirus-covid-19-meeting-with-others-safely-social-distancing

The Government also published guidance on how people can make a support bubble with another household. The guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/making-a-support-bubble-with-another-household

Local lockdown regulations exempt those providing care or assistance to a vulnerable person from the prohibition on household mixing.

In the ‘Adult social care: coronavirus (COVID-19) winter plan 2020 to 2021’, published on 18 September, we set out tightened infection prevention and control measures to enable visits to care home residents to continue safely. The plan is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/adult-social-care-coronavirus-covid-19-winter-plan-2020-to-2021

We published visiting guidance on 22 July 2020 which outlined how providers, based on the views of their local Director of Public Health, could take a dynamic risk-based approach to allow visiting where safe. This guidance will shortly be updated to reflect the changes announced in the winter plan and 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

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