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U-turn from Caithness care home provider Barchester as it says it will not ask visitors for proof of vaccination, after issue was raised in parliament


By Louise Glen

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Seaview House care home in Wick.
Seaview House care home in Wick.

Care home provider Barchester has said it will not as a matter of course ask that visitors to homes are vaccinated before visiting relatives, after the issue was raised yesterday in the Scottish Parliament.

Barchester, which runs Seaview House in Wick and Pentland View in Thurso, had written to families earlier this week to say they would require to provide proof of vaccination before they were allowed access to its homes to visit relatives.

New guidelines from the Scottish Government, issued this week stated that routine indoor visiting of care home residents by relatives, friends and carers will be able to resume from early March with care providers supporting residents to have up to two designated visitors each and one visit a week for each visitor.

In a statement issued this afternoon, a spokesman for Barchester confirmed it would no longer be asking relatives to prove they were vaccinated before visiting its homes – but said this still remained a preference for the provider.

He said: “We are looking forward to having visitors back in our homes in an appropriately safe manner.

"We will be aligning with government guidance ensuring the designated visitors per resident are supported in complying with the protocols including the use of PPE and being tested using a lateral flow device test before entering a home, and our preference is that they are also vaccinated, if possible, but as many of our relatives have told us they are not able to be vaccinated as yet this is not something we will mandate.

“However we are lobbying with the government for designated visitors to be prioritised for a vaccination and will continue to engage with relatives and residents.”

Latest figures show that deaths from Covid among care home residents in Scotland have fallen by 69 per cent since mid-January.

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