Researchers: Do not repeat national ban on visiting nursing homes Inland

The cabinet decided to ban visits to nursing homes in March due to the corona crisis. In this way, the government wanted to stop the outbreak of the coronavirus in the institutions. The ban was relaxed somewhat at the end of May, when residents were allowed to receive one regular visitor again. Since June 15, multiple visitors are allowed again, provided that a nursing home meets certain conditions.

Professors of Geriatric Medicine Wilco Achterberg of the LUMC and Sytse Zuidema of the UMCG believe that nursing homes should in future be given the space to determine their own visitor arrangement. Even if the country suffers a second wave of corona infections. They conclude from panel discussions with members of the crisis teams that the visitor ban was difficult for the personnel to implement. “In addition, there were differences in the risk of contamination per region, while the visitors scheme applied everywhere.” Customization would therefore be better, they judge.

Another recommendation is to have permanent care teams work in a department. If someone becomes infected, his or her department can be closed temporarily, without directly affecting the other residents. “This allows effective isolation of infected patients and reduces the risk of spread to the rest of the nursing home,” says Achterberg.

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