Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:56 pm on 11 January 2022.
Thank you very much, Mabon. I'm very aware of the situation and how difficult it is for those who are suffering dementia who don't understand exactly what is going on, and why they can't see their loved ones. But the fact is that our guidelines are clear. We have made it entirely clear that we expect care homes to allow people to visit, especially if they are a very close family member. The guidelines are very clear. The problem that we have here is that some of the care homes that are privately run, they say that they don't want these guidelines to apply in their case, and they are concerned perhaps in some cases that their insurance, for example, wouldn't protect them if there were to be a situation if COVID were to be introduced into that care home. So, our guidelines are as clear as they can be: people should be able to visit their loved ones. But that's where the issue arises, because the majority of the care homes are private care homes that have private insurance, and they then make that decision.