Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 2:41 pm on 19 January 2022.
Thank you very much, Rhun. I am highly aware of the fact that so many people are experiencing dementia the length and breadth of Wales, not just those in care homes, but there are many people living at home too who have been isolated, have had less social contact, and we have seen decline during that period among elderly people particularly. And that is why, time and time again, we have ensured that we look in detail at what the guidance should be in terms of visiting care homes. We have tried to strike the right balance, and it is difficult to do that, because everyone would be screaming and shouting if we had seen a system where we were introducing omicron or COVID into care homes. So, we have to strike the right balance, and it's difficult.
Our guidance is clear. People do have a right to visit a loved one in a care home, but the problem is that most of these are privately run homes, run by people who have to pay for insurance, and they fear that their insurance wouldn't safeguard them if COVID was introduced into their care home. So, in terms of a change in legislation, I think that would be a very major step to take in terms of what constitutes a human right. Now, a human right says that an individual has a right to a family life—I think that's the wording, I'm not sure. So, I'm sure you could appeal to that already. So, the question following on from that is whether that would stand up in a court of law. I think it would be very difficult to go any further than that. I don't know if there are other examples elsewhere in the world, but that right already exists, the right to a family life.