Minister Butler welcomes updated Guidance for Nursing Homes
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From: Department of Health
- Published on: 4 July 2022
- Last updated on: 6 July 2022
Minister for Mental Health and Older People, Mary Butler, has welcomed the publication by the HSE and the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) of the latest review of the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Guidance for long-term residential care facilities. It comes into effect today, 4 July 2022.
The revised guidance includes a set of principles to support access and visiting in nursing homes. These principles within the main guidance document replace separate guidance on visiting which has now been retired. This reflects the positive impact of vaccination and booster programmes among nursing home residents and staff in terms of reducing the level of infection and severity of disease.
Public health advice remains that full access to visiting should be facilitated, while continuing to recognise the need to remain cautious as we continue to deal with the evolving risks associated with COVID-19. The guidance will be kept under review as new evidence and data emerges.
Welcoming the updated guidance, Minister Butler said:
"I am very pleased to be able to confirm this updated guidance incorporating clear principles to support visiting in nursing homes. This will further normalise visiting in nursing homes while still maintaining a strong emphasis on the importance of good IPC procedures. Visiting plays an essential role in supporting the rights and wellbeing of people who live in nursing homes to maintain meaningful relationships with those who are important to them. It is vital that these rights are respected and facilitated and we must always remember that nursing homes are the residents homes, they must be supported to live as they would in their own home in so far as is possible."
The guidance published this week sets out the following established principles:
- there must be a balance between managing the risk of introduction of COVID-19 or other communicable infectious diseases and residents’ rights to meaningful contact
- full access to visiting should be facilitated to the greatest degree practical for all residents
- access to visiting may be very limited for a period of time in the early stages of dealing with an outbreak, but a total withdrawal of access is not appropriate
- if limitations on access to visiting are considered necessary, this should be based on a documented risk assessment
- a nursing home should have a policy on visiting and this information should be easily accessible
- everyone who accesses a nursing home must adhere to directions on essential infection prevention and control practices, and anyone with symptoms of COVID-19 or other communicable infectious diseases should not visit
The guidance is available on the HPSC website.