Anne's Law draft regulations: consultation report

Annex C: Interview Topic Guide for Care Home Visits

Interview Topic Guide

This section presents the topic guide used during the care home visits. The guide was developed to support flexible, person-centred conversations with residents, families and staff, and to ensure that discussions covered the parts of the draft regulations where people’s views could help shape the final wording or the supporting Code of Practice.

The questions were designed to be open and conversational so that participants could share their experiences in their own words. The guide was flexible as needed to reflect people’s communication needs, personal circumstances and comfort levels. The prompts were used only where helpful to explore a point in more depth.

Questions for Care Home residents

The following sections are grouped by the main areas covered during the visits, with separate subsections showing the questions, optional prompts and topics explored. This structure reflects how interviewers guided conversations in practice and provides a clear overview of the themes participants were invited to discuss.

1. The Essential Care Supporter

Background speaking note

The Care Reform (Scotland) Act recognises that some family and friends are also 'Essential Care Supporters' – an integral part of the care team for their loved ones. Anne’s Law recognises their role in providing care, support and companionship. This section of the regulations explains how care home providers should identify Essential Care Supporters for their residents. An Essential Care Supporter could be someone who has been the resident's main carer, or simply a close contact, like a family member or friend. It explains what the provider must consider, including:

• consulting the resident and the resident's personal plan
• checking that the identified person would like to do it

Questions

(Question from survey for reference) - Is there anything else you think care home providers should think about when they are identifying an Essential Care Supporter?

Important point for audiences: Under Anne’s Law, everyone will be able to choose one or more Essential Care Supporters who will be supported to see you.

• What are your thoughts and feelings relating to the ECS?

Prompt questions to facilitate further discussion where necessary

• Who would you choose to be your ECS?
• Are there any ways which the care home can help you to choose your ECS?
• How would you like the details of your ECS to be kept in your care home?
• Do you have a personal plan?
• How would having an essential care supporter help you in the event of an emergency, such as Covid-19?

2. Essential visits

Background speaking note

There is a section in the regulations that explains that even when visiting has been suspended (for example if there is an infection in the home), some types of visits must still go ahead. These are called 'Essential Visits'. It sets out what types of visits these are. One type of essential visit includes where a suspension of visits is causing or likely to cause serious harm to a resident’s health or wellbeing.

Anne’s Law also includes a legal presumption that suspending visits from an Essential Care Supporter is always likely to cause serious harm to their loved ones health and wellbeing.

Questions

(Question from survey for reference) - If you don't think the visits listed in the regulations should be classed as Essential Visits, what types of visits should be?

In some situations, the care home may need to pause visiting but it may be really important that some people continue to see one another and visits may still go ahead.

• What are your thoughts and feelings about this?

Prompt questions to facilitate discussion if needed

• How important is receiving visits to you?
• Can you think of any times when it might be really important for you or someone else to see a loved one?
• What would you want to see the care home do to make sure that some people are able to see their loved ones even during hard times, like during COVID or other emergencies?
• What would you want the care home to do ensure that you were protected if there was an outbreak of infection?

3. Review of decision to suspend visiting

Background speaking note

Anne’s Law includes a section in the regulations that allows you to review a decision to suspend visiting. The Regulation states that the request to review a decision must be in writing and it goes on to describe the circumstances for asking for a review, like the guidance not being followed or if the situation has changed on the ground.

Questions

(Question from survey for reference) 6. If you think there should be any other grounds on which a request could be made please list them here

What do you think about the idea of being able to ask for a review if you’re told you can’t have visitors/visit someone?

Prompt questions to facilitate further discussion if needed

• Have you ever needed to question a decision on you seeing your loved ones?
• When do you think it’s fair to ask the care home to look again at a decision about visiting?
• How would you like the care home to respond if you asked them to review a decision?
• How quickly do you think the care home should respond to a request like this? Why?

4. Final Question for residents

Is there anything else you’d like to say about what is important to you and how Anne’s Law might work in practice?

5. Questions for Care home managers and staff

Are you aware of:

Named and Essential visitor initiatives

The Health and Social Care Standards on visiting (5.16 & 5.17)

The Care Inspectorate’s meaningful connection project

Anne’s Law

If so, what do you think about them?

How do you support residents to stay connected with people that are important to them? Why is that important?