Shelagh Fogarty speaks of opposition to current Covid care home rules
4 May 2021, 16:59
Shelagh Fogarty speaks of opposition to current Covid care home rules
This is the moment Shelagh Fogarty spoke about her opposition to Covid care home rules as they stand.
Shelagh's monologue on the subject has come after it was announced that care home residents can now leave to go for a walk without having to self-isolate for 14 days when they return.
Speaking directly to LBC listeners, Shelagh said: "I cannot imagine the distress that so many of you have been through this year [through] not being able to go and see the person that you love probably most in the world and certainly the person that needs you most in the world at the moment."
Speaking of those affected by the care home rules, she added: "We're talking about people who are at the end sort of phase of their life...So these aren't people who are going to be hopping and skipping to a fairground all day if they were open.
Caller tells Shelagh Fogarty of her 'battle' to see her dying dad
"That's not what's going on here. This is about people sitting with relatives quietly...And of course that should all be done with great care at the moment.
"And, of course, it should be done within, not just the spirit, but within the sensible guidelines that all of us are adhering to as we leave this lockdown slowly but surely."
The LBC host then went on to say that current Covid care home rules have "gone too far" and are resulting in a "breach of people's right to a family life".
Shelagh Fogarty's exchange with Care England spokesperson on care home rules
Shelagh explained: "People are being withheld from their family after being double-vaccinated. Often their adult children in their 50s or 60s have been double-vaccinated."
She went on to say that "nobody is suggesting that there's a kind of free-for-all approach" to care home visits, but said she thinks "it's time to scrap the rule of two and the various restrictions that care homes are still imposing on families".
READ MORE: Care home campaigners issue fresh legal threat against Govt over self-isolation rule
