Visiting Rights Set For Overhaul As Government Acts On Care Home Access Concerns
The Government has pledged to fundamentally strengthen the visiting rights of residents and patients in care homes, hospitals and hospices across England, promising that people will no longer be routinely separated from their loved ones except in the most exceptional of circumstances.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) made the announcement following a formal review of Regulation 9A of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 — the statutory provision that sets out the obligations on care providers to uphold each individual’s right to receive visitors and to be accompanied by those close to them.
The review surfaced serious concerns about the way visiting rights have been applied in practice. Among the most troubling findings were reports of blanket restrictions being imposed across entire settings, family members being denied access to vulnerable patients and residents, and both residents and their relatives being excluded from conversations about care decisions and visitation arrangements.
Campaigners and families have long argued that such restrictions — particularly those imposed without individual risk assessments — cause significant distress and, in the case of residents living with dementia or other cognitive conditions, can have measurable impacts on health and wellbeing.
In direct response to the review’s findings, the DHSC has confirmed it will distribute a package of guidance and practical resources to health and care settings. These are designed to make visiting rights unambiguous for both providers and the people in their care.
The resources will include an accessible explainer — formatted as a sheet or poster — setting out residents’ and patients’ rights under Regulation 9A and explaining how complaints can be made if those rights are not being honoured. Providers will also receive draft guidance to help them communicate any necessary restrictions clearly and compassionately to residents, patients and families. In addition, a decision-making framework in the form of a process map will be made available, helping staff think through the key considerations before any restrictions are put in place.
The DHSC has confirmed it will work in close partnership with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to monitor how well settings are complying with visiting rights obligations and to step in where problems are identified. This signals a more active enforcement stance than has been seen in previous years, when complaints about access were often left to individuals to pursue.
Minister of State for Care Stephen Kinnock said: “No one should be separated from their loved ones unnecessarily. Contact with family and friends should not be seen as a luxury but a basic part of good care.
“This system must work for residents, patients and their loved ones and we are ensuring it does. These changes will protect patients and residents, give families a stronger voice, and help make sure care is more compassionate, open and humane.”
Vic Rayner OBE, CEO of the National Care Forum said: “Since the early months of the pandemic we have pushed for each and every care home resident to have access to what we called an ‘essential care giver’. Since then, over 100 organisations representing millions of people, have come together to support Care Rights UK’s campaign to introduce a legal right to a ‘Care Supporter’: a trusted loved one to provide support and advocacy in all health and care settings. As such we welcome the government’s commitment to explore the introduction of legislation to do just this, and we would encourage it to look at the proposed ‘Gloria’s Law’.
“The people who know us best – our friends and family – are critical to ensuring the best care and support is provided. They know our likes and dislikes, can advocate on our behalf and, perhaps most importantly, continue to be an important part of our lives no matter what our health and care needs are. It is fundamental to the provision of good care and support, as well as an individual’s human rights, that these relationships and connections are actively supported and maintained”.
