Factsheet about visiting in adult and older people's care homes
We have published a factsheet about visiting in adult and older people’s care homes.
This covers expectations for visiting in both normal and exceptional circumstances, and we hope it will be useful for care home providers, managers and staff, people experiencing care, their families and friends, and other relevant people. Any queries, please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
“Lizzie on the Fence” at the Scottish Parliament
Blog by Sheri Kerr, Meaningful Connection, Visiting and Anne’s Law Project
“Palisade security fencing is a popular choice for high security buildings like prisons. And care homes.”
Campaigning group Care Home Relatives Scotland recently teamed up with Human Story Theatre, who specialise in plays with a health and social care issue at heart, to bring a staged reading of the play “Lizzie on the Fence” to the Scottish Parliament. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to attend the performance and panel discussion afterwards, representing the Care Inspectorate’s Meaningful Connection, Visiting and Anne’s Law Project.
The play is described as “a dark comedy about locked down love”, and it’s certainly very funny – there were many laugh-out-loud moments for the audience and some very spot-on observations - but also almost unbearably poignant at times, and clearly resonated powerfully with the audience, bringing back all too painful memories for many.
Standing vigil outside the fence of her husband of forty years, Bill’s care home, the articulate and angry Lizzie (Renata Allen) tells the story of what’s brought her there and the people she has interacted with along the way – battles with care home manager Mark (a very funny performance from Edward Rowett), the concerns of her beleaguered NHS-working daughter Flick (Michelle Frew), and an unexpected meeting with Arthur (Kieran Hodgson), a student with his own rather controversial take on the events of the pandemic. Themes of love, separation and determination shine through.
The play was inspired by writer Amanda Mackenzie Stuart’s own experiences during the pandemic – lurking, like Lizzie, in the shrubbery outside the fence of her husband’s care home – and by the stories of many others, some of which are referenced in the script.
“We weren’t able to get into his room and hold his hand. Visits were only ever possible at a distance through the care home fence,” Amanda recalled. “We never knew if he understood why we had apparently abandoned him.”
A panel discussion after the performance featured playwright Amanda Mackenzie Stuart, Iona Colvin, Chief Social Work Adviser to the Scottish Government, and Natasha Hamilton and Alison Leitch from Care Home Relatives Scotland. Unfortunately the discussion was cut short due to the illness of an audience member, but there was plenty of opportunity for conversations around the room.
