© Hannah McKay/ReutersNicky Clough visits her mother Pam Harrison at Alexander House Care Home for the first time since lockdown restrictions begin to ease - Hannah McKay/Reuters
Care home visitors are being urged to tell staff about Mother's Day gifts in advance of seeing their loved ones.
As family and friends prepare to mark Mothering Sunday this weekend, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) has urged care home visitors to be extra cautious with their gifts in a bid to protect residents from Covid-19.
On Monday, the Government published its latest visiting guidelines. They stipulated: "Staff should discuss with visitors any items they wish to bring with them on their visit, such as a gift.
"It will need to be something that can be easily cleaned by the care home to prevent cross contamination. For example, a box of chocolates that could be sanitised with wipes."
A DHSC spokesperson clarified on Wednesday that this would mean gifts can be brought into care homes on Mothering Sunday as long as they can be easily cleaned.
The spokesperson added: "Essentially it would be a case of ensuring whatever they are wrapped in as being something which can be sanitised."
The cautious guidance came as the head of a leading care provider membership body accused the Government of being too "definitive" when it set a date for indoor care home visits to restart.
Professor Martin Green OBE, chief executive of Care England, told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme that providers are being faced with a "stark choice", but their priority must be the safety and care of residents.
Asked if the care of residents involves them being able to see their families, Prof Green replied: "It does, and we acknowledge that, but the reality is... that sometimes we are faced with a stark choice. It's about having to protect the residents from dying of Covid.
"And also I think we should acknowledge that lots of care homes have opened up for visits, so this is not a situation where no care homes are opening up for visits, and we should also acknowledge that throughout the pandemic, many care homes have facilitated visiting, albeit it hasn't been about physical contact."
However, the campaign group Rights for Residents said that the majority of members "are not getting this type of visits that they were promised" after the Government said they could restart from Monday.
The resumption of visits is backed up by new visiting guidance, which is not mandatory.
The Government has said care home residents can receive regular indoor visits from a nominated friend or relative, who must be tested and wear PPE.
Those with the highest care needs are also able to receive visits from a loved one providing essential care or support, with these visits permitted to continue even if the home has a coronavirus outbreak, unless there are "specific reasons".
Jenny Morrison, co-founder of Rights for Residents, said it is a "very, very distressing time for relatives who unfortunately are in the main, not being reunited with their loved ones inside care homes".
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