In its election manifesto, the SNP made a manifesto commitment to deliver Anne’s Law. This would ensure designated visitors be given the same rights as staff to enter their loved ones’ care homes, while following infection prevention rules.
However, four months since this pledge was made, families continue to be given minimal contact with loved ones in residential care. Thousands more people have died in care homes in that time and many have closed again due to outbreaks. This is a desperate suggestion for many: yesterday, the Sunday Mail highlighted the issue starkly as 104-year-old Mary Fowler begged for the law to be changed in a video message released before she died.
Alongside Scottish Labour colleagues, public health experts and hundreds of affected families, I have signed an open letter calling on the Scottish Government to do the right thing and honour their promise to care home residents, enshrining Anne’s Law in the current guidance, prioritising Anne’s Law in the Programme for Government, and delivering this as soon as possible.