To ask the Minister of Health (i) for his assessment of the impact of restrictions related to COVID-19 on dementia patients within care homes; (ii) how the restrictions are limiting stimulation for these patients; and (iii) how he is supporting care homes to facilitate care partner arrangements.

COVID-19 has had a significant impact on care homes residents suffering from dementia. COVID-19 is continuing to change older people’s daily routines, the care and support they receive, their ability to stay socially connected and how they are perceived.

Care home residents with a dementia are often more at risk because of individual vulnerabilities, shared living spaces and the inability to understand changes in their routine or report symptoms.

Restrictions on visiting and reduced opportunities for physical activity outside the care home environment impact on stimulation but reflect the infection risk presented by COVID-19.

To mitigate this, regional support available to care homes with dementia units includes staffing and financial support where enhanced staffing assists with maintaining residents’ social distancing, regular hand hygiene and provision of individual activity and meaningful occupation.

Extra training and education sessions have also been provided by Trusts to care home staff to allow them to identify, understand and respond to changes in behaviour in people with dementia during the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes sessions on the importance of activity and meaningful occupation to limit the drop in activities which are unable to take place due to the pandemic.

Additional written information and handouts relating to managing and communicating with residents during the covid pandemic have also been forwarded to care homes by each Trust.

All individuals with or without a dementia residing in care homes have individual care and support plans in place which continue to be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure it meets individual assessed need.

It remains my position that care home visiting and the subsequent implementation of the care partner role is of critical importance to the health and wellbeing of care home residents and in particular those with a dementia.

Care partner contact is in addition to visits to a resident which are organised according to the care home’s visiting policy and the DoH Covid-19 regional principles for visiting.

The increase to Level 5 visiting restrictions will not prevent care partners from being permitted access to care homes. Care homes are being actively encouraged to adhere to all aspects of the revised visiting guidelines, including the introduction of care partners, and care partner contact can continue providing that visits are aligned with infection prevention and control measures. In addition, my Department is currently undertaking work to facilitate the testing of care partners as part of the care homes staff testing programme.

Trusts will continue to engage with care homes to reinforce the Care Partner message. Key workers are also ensuring in family communications that they are aware of this role and offering support to families to help them set up the role when they identify a need.

The Care Home Manager is still responsible for permitting visitors into a home on a day to day basis and there may be, of course, circumstances where visiting may be restricted further. In such cases the full visiting guidance should be referred to. As well as Trusts, the HSCB and PHA are working with those homes who are finding implementation more challenging – identifying and sharing good practice.

We continue to live and work with the threat of Covid-19. While we wait as the vaccination programme is rolled out, it is still important to take measures to minimize risks of spread of infection alongside providing safely managed but meaningful visits for residents with their loved ones.