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15 April 2020updated 06 Oct 2020 9:45am

UK to change guidance on visiting dying relatives, Hancock announces

By Samuel Horti

The government will introduce new rules so that people can say goodbye to dying relatives in care homes “wherever possible”, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has announced.

Hancock did not specify what these “new procedures” would entail. Some care homes have allowed visits in certain circumstances, but visiting a dying relative is not included in the government’s list of reasons to leave home.

Hancock also announced a recruitment drive for the care sector, saying the government would pay for “induction training” to get tens of thousands more staff into work. Supermarkets will also be asked to give care staff the same priority as NHS staff, he said.

Meanwhile, the government’s chief medical adviser Professor Chris Whitty said the UK’s death toll is nearing its peak, although he expects death figures to rise again tomorrow.

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