CHARITIES supporting the elderly and those with dementia have criticised suggestions from the Government on how people can visit relatives in care homes.

The Department for Health & Social Care suggested care homes allow visits from friends or relatives through windows, in pods separated by floor-to-ceiling perspex screens, or by sitting outside when winter is just round the corner.

The Government U-turn on visits to care homes came on Wednesday, just hours before England moved into a national lockdown.

Some care homes in the district have already taken steps to allow safe visiting, with pods to allow residents to see their loved ones.

However this approach has drawn criticism from charities which support the elderly.

The Alzheimer’s Society said the new rules will lead to more deaths of dementia patients, and Age UK said the visiting methods may be “unusable” for residents with sensory loss or dementia.

The guidance from the DHSC said visits could use “secure visiting areas or pods with floor to ceiling screens and windows where the visitor and resident enter through different entrances, are separated by screens and visitors do not need to enter or pass through the care home”.

It also suggested speaking to residents through their window, by using video calls, or by sitting outside with one person, when in November the average high temperature is less than 10 degrees and it rains on average for half of the month.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “Care homes should feel empowered by this new guidance to look at safe options to allow visits to care homes that suit their residents and facilities.

“We’ve seen some really innovative solutions used to help families see each other safely, face-to-face, which has been life-changing for some.”

At the Vicarage Court Care Home in Queensbury, a visiting pod has been created to allow residents to safely see and speak to their loved ones in privacy.

Claremont House care home in Heckmondwike has also had a visiting pod installed in its gardens to allow residents to see visitors without risk of infection.

Kate Lee, chief executive of the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “We are devastated by the new care home visitor guidance.

“It completely misses the point; this attempt to protect people will kill them.

“Thousands of people with dementia have died during lockdown - by far the highest increase in deaths for any condition.

“Our support line is inundated with distraught families reporting the damaging side effects of isolation on their loved ones.”

Ms Lee also likened the suggestions to the visitor set-ups seen in prisons, with people separated by screens and talking through a phone.