South Lanarkshire Labour are supporting calls for an urgent review of care home visiting arrangements.
They are warning that months of restrictions on family visits are damaging to the health of care home residents.
The East Kilbride News previously highlighted the desperate plight of Campbell Duke and his family from East Kilbride.
His wife, 62-year-old Anne, who suffers from Alzheimer’s, is in a care home in the town and Campbell wrote a heartbreaking open letter begging for rules to be relaxed so indoor visiting would be allowed with winter upon us.
Labour MSP and health spokesperson Monica Lennon has also supported calls to allow family to visit loved ones indoors and compared months of restrictions on homes to an “unacceptable humanitarian crisis”.
Labour says it supports infection control measures in care homes but insist that, with more testing and safety protocols, limited numbers could safely conduct routine visits to see their loved ones in care homes and bring an end to months of isolation.
In September, the care home industry warned that curbs on visiting could cut lives short.
Councillor Margaret Walker, chair of South Lanarkshire Labour Group, said: “Until further notice care home visits will continue to be ‘restricted to outdoor and essential visits only’ in Lanarkshire and across much of the West. Restrictions have now been in place since March and there is no doubt they have been damaging to residents and their families.
“Access to family and friends is crucial to health and wellbeing and many families have substantial caring roles.
“We understand that it will be some time before normality returns to care homes but we do not accept that the status quo is sustainable. For example, one relative could be designated as a key worker and provided with regular testing.
“The basic human right of residents in care homes to have the support of their families must be acknowledged.
“The Scottish Government must find a solution as soon as possible, allowing some level of visiting to resume in a controlled and safe environment.”
