People wanting to visit relatives and loved ones in care homes in Saskatchewan got some welcome news from the Saskatchewan Health Authority today. The SHA is expanding its criteria for compassionate reasons related to visitation restrictions.

The SHA established a Family Presence Expert Panel with patient and family advisors, along with public health and Infection Prevention and Control experts, to provide guidance on recommendations to support family presence during COVID-19. The expert panel has come up with some new guidelines. 

One of the biggest new details is that all critical care and intensive care patients are now included in the compassionate care definition. Two family members at once are now allowed to be present during palliative care.  

"For residents in long-term care, quality of life considerations will now be used in addition to care needs to determine if these needs cannot be met without the support of a designated family member or support person," read the release from the SHA. "In these situations, two family members/support people can be designated with one family/support person present at a time."

Only one family member or caregiver can be present for inpatient, outpatient, emergency or urgent care patients who have comprehension challenges. The SHA said this includes mobility, hearing, speech including communication barriers, intellectual or mental health disability, and visual or memory impairment. Outdoor visitation is no longer limited to one person at a time. 

“Compassionate care means different things to different people, so we worked hard together to review this and come up with adjustments that still ensure we are protected when living or coming into these facilities,” a patient and family advisor on the SHA Family Presence Expert Panel and co-chair, SHA’s provincial patient and family leadership council Heather Thiessen said. “Like so many others, I need my partner there with me if I require emergency care. Otherwise, I am in danger of not understanding or being able to communicate what is happening to me to my care providers. I am so proud of the work our panel is doing, and I look forward working with the SHA to support families in keeping each other physically and mentally safe in this pandemic world we live in.”

As an additional level of safety, all outpatients and family members/support persons will be provided with a medical-grade mask and asked to wear it while in SHA homes and facilities. 

For more information on visitation guidelines, visit the new section on www.saskatchewan.ca/COVID19 under Visiting SHA facilities.