Nursing homes are preparing to welcome back visitors from today.

Under new guidance from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC), residents are allowed one visitor a week.

Should restrictions be tightened again, that will be reduced to one visitor every two weeks.

In a statement, Sage Advocacy said residents are eagerly looking forward to “meaningful visits” with their loved ones.

Family visits

The charity, which supports vulnerable adults and older people, said it had been “inundated” with calls in recent months from people who were worried about the impact of isolation on their loved ones.

Executive Director Sarah Lennon said: “We have dealt with a significant volume of calls from family members who have repeatedly told us that they felt their mother, father or husband or wife was ‘locked away’ from them because of the visiting restrictions.”

“We remain acutely aware of the risk of COVID-19, but we have consistently maintained that the policy makers must ensure a balance to managing the risk, because we know from our work that when older people or those with a disability are physically separated from their family, friends and loved ones and unable to see them it can have a big impact on their wellbeing and their mental health.

“We have continually advocated for nursing home residents to exercise their right to see their families and for their choice and control over contact with their families to be respected.

“We know of many people across the country who have been desperately holding out until the day they can reunite with their loved ones in nursing homes and it will come as a huge relief to them that these latest guidelines should help to facilitate that from today.”

Time limits

Ms Lennon urged nursing homes to facilitate “meaningful, safe visits” over Christmas and warned that strict time limits are not “in the spirit of the latest guidelines.”

“We know of some nursing home operators who have contacted family members to tell them that they have implemented a time limit of 15 minutes per visit, once a week, for one family member,” she said.

“We do not believe this is in the spirit of the latest guidelines and we would urge nursing home operators to facilitate meaningful, safe visits between nursing home residents and their loved ones in the run up to Christmas and over the New Year period.”

She called for guidance on whether nursing home residents will be allowed to visit family members outside the home over the Christmas period this year.