Care home managers have slammed new government visiting guidelines - warning they will cause "confusion, stress and anxiety" for people with dementia.

The updated guidance recommends care homes install "visiting pods with floor-to-ceiling screens", allow visitors to view residents through windows or from their cars, or organise visits in outdoor areas - despite the wintry temperatures.

But critics say the guidance contains a lack of detail, while seeing loved ones from behind screens could cause deep distress for those with dementia.

While the measures aim to "support safe care home visits during lockdown", some homes have decided to stop visits altogether as they are unable to follow the recommendations.

Among them is St Brelades in Herne Bay - a care home for 66 women with dementia, where dedicated staff “paused their personal lives indefinitely” by going into lockdown with elderly residents in a bid to prevent the spread of coronavirus back in April.

Managing director Larry Berkowitz said: "They've suggested putting up these plastic screens, but it's not just a case of throwing them up. These are big rooms; there's the organisation and the expense. So we've decided to close to visitors for the lockdown.

"I think it will just be a negative experience unfortunately - for the family too, but more so for the residents.

"The family will have an understanding of why, but the residents wouldn't understand that in a month's time they'll be able to see that relative again."

Mr Berkowitz described forcing dementia patients to see loved ones through screens as "almost a form of torture".

"It won't go down well," he said. "It will create confusion, stress, anxiety.

"The residents don't understand Covid for a start. Then you throw into the mix their loved ones, who they see very seldomly, and say 'you can't touch them, you've got to be behind a screen'.

"They would feel like they're in some sort of prison. Seeing their relatives is the best part of the week."

Mr Berkowitz says he hopes to see rapid Covid testing rolled out for care home visitors, to allow them to make in-person visits.

"Tests with fast results would be a real, real game-changer," he said.

The Chase care home in Canterbury has also closed its doors to visitors in light of the new guidelines.

Manager Janet Spree explained: "We haven't got screen dividers or anything we can put in place in the home, and obviously it's too cold for garden visits."

She added that getting workmen safely into a care home to install screens would prove tricky.

She says seeing loved ones face-to-face has an "absolutely huge impact" upon The Chase's 25 residents, all of whom have dementia - while seeing loved ones through a pane of glass or plastic would be "absolutely awful".

She too would like to see the government issue care homes - which already routinely test staff and patients - with additional tests for family members.

The CEO of Alzheimer’s Society, Kate Lee, has also warned of the negative impact the new visiting measures could have upon people with dementia.

"They won’t understand and will be distressed by what’s going on around them," she said. "Aside from the naive assumption that care homes have the resource, the space, and time to build these screens."

Faversham MP and Minister for Care, Helen Whately acknowledged visiting restrictions have been "incredibly hard" for care home residents and their loved ones.

"There is no escaping the pain and the very real consequences of being separated for such a long period of time," she said, in the guidance issued by the government on Wednesday.

"The accounts I have heard personally are truly heart-breaking, especially where care homes have been unable to reopen for visiting during the summer.

"I am determined to bring loved ones back together even during this second wave of the pandemic; that’s why I am advising care homes to enable Covid-secure visits across the country.

"We are also working to trial testing for visitors, so that we can reduce the risk of indoor visits and give families more opportunities to spend time with relatives in care homes.

"We must get the balance right between reuniting families and ensuring care staff and residents are safe from Covid-19."

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson added: “We understand the pain and the very real consequences of loved ones being separated and we must get the balance right between reuniting families and ensuring care staff and residents are safe from Covid-19.

“We understand these options won’t be suitable for every situation, but we are working to trial testing for visitors to reduce the risk of indoor visits and give families more opportunities to spend time with relatives in care homes.”

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