At Careis, we believe every day should be an open day for visits in the health and social care sector, but what do we mean by that?

One of the truisms we have seen emerge from our mutual COVID experience is the value of visits from friends and family and the important role they play in the wellbeing of everyone, oh and that includes care home residents as well as people living in supported living and other health and social care facilities.

With permission from the resident, where they have capacity, many digital care plan management systems, like ours at CAREis, enable family and friends to follow the care of their loved one in real-time through a password protected portal, https://www.careis.net/all-features/.  This means family can have virtual visits with their loved one in their care home every hour of every day of every week, and see what they have been doing and the care they have engaged with.

Such portals are a great source of sanity and comfort for families, especially during the issues we all experienced with COVID-19 when care home visits could not happen.

We saw evidence emerging during the pandemic that residents in care settings were suffering with mental health issues and isolation because they were unable to see those who mattered to them on a regular basis.

What was notable about these observations was that unlike social isolation in the community, where some, usually older, people barely see anyone, the residents in the care home were surrounded by care staff and other residents.

This suggests that the benefits which accrue from being around other people are increased if those other people are of significance to the care home resident.  What this means is that people in care settings should be able to see those individuals who are important to them as often as they wish, so care home visits are of real benefit to residents.

Talking about their access to their loved one’s notes, one elderly gentleman told CAREis:

Being open all hours for family and friends visits does not therefore have to be a burden, in fact quite the opposite it saves staff time and is comforting for families.

We can’t really blog about something like this without considering what this means for compliance and what the CQC might say.  One of the fundamental standards of care states:

What this identifies is how sharing access to care records, as in a family portal, enables the care home to meet a fundamental standard to a level which might meet the criteria for being outstanding.  Now Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014: Regulation 9A: Visiting and accompanying in care homes, hospitals and hospices is in place there really is no excuse for care homes not to be open to visits, https://www.cqc.org.uk/guidance-providers/regulations/regulation-9a-visiting-and-accompanying,

So what we are saying is why not take the message about the importance of care home visits with you and ensure you remain open to family and friends all of the time.