Consultation on making visiting a legal right in health and care settings
To do this they are considering introducing secondary legislation to amend CQC regulations to include a specific visiting requirement.
Healthwatch were one of the first organisations to raise the issue of care home visiting issues directly with the Government during the pandemic. We wrote to the Secretary of State in partnership with council and charity leaders about the huge impact restrictions were having on residents. We have since backed calls from campaign groups in calling for visiting to become a legal right in all settings, as referenced in parliament earlier this month by Dan Carden MP.
This is a huge step forward for visiting rights, and full credit to campaigners including Care Rights UK for keeping the issue on the Government’s agenda.
