To ask the Minister of Health what the current process is if a Care Home Provider does not implement or comply with the Care Partner arrangements for residents outlined in the Regional Principles for Northern Ireland Care Home Settings and other guidance issued by the Executive on or around 21 September 2020.

The HSC is continuously assessing how best the allow residents in all of our care homes to maintain meaningful contact with their families and friends.

My Department’s Chief Nursing Officer and Chief Social Work Officer have jointly written to all our Health and Social Care (HSC) Trusts requesting that each Trust provide support to care home providers, who have been tasked to introduce the concept of Care Partners and an assurance to the Department that the Visiting Guidance is being followed appropriately

My Department’s Chief Nursing Officer and Chief Social Work Officer have also jointly written to Care Home providers to remind them of the Visiting Guidance and to ask them to facilitate the introduction of Care Partners, given the associated, potentially life changing benefits of such arrangements for their residents. This will require careful planning, with the benefits for residents of having Care Partners facilitated balanced against the need for continuing mitigation of the ongoing risk of transmission of Covid-19 in response to the pandemic, alongside the management of normal seasonal pressures.

Should any Care Home Provider decide against implementing any aspect of visiting guidance, including the introduction of the Care Partner arrangements, the relevant Trust will take the matter up with that Care Home directly, offering suitable assistance to aid compliance.