Ehpad residents will be able to celebrate Christmas in a more "friendly" way.
Two days after Jean Castex's announcements following the slowdown in the decline in Covid-19 contamination, the government on Saturday relaxed its recommendations for establishments for the elderly for the end of the year celebrations.
Outings will therefore be authorized "on an exceptional basis" and under a few conditions all the same: on their return to the establishment, residents must carry out an RT-PCR or antigen test and refrain from participating in activities for seven days. collective.
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Another part of the protocol, the visits: they will always be by appointment but the number of visitors per resident and the hours of the day dedicated to the visits could be revised upwards to "allow families to find themselves in more favorable conditions. friendly ”.
These visits may even be authorized in rooms, "in particular for residents who have difficulty getting around" and "for Covid + residents".
The directors of establishments are also "encouraged to organize collective activities inside and outside the establishment, with a convivial, festive or spiritual aim (including in particular support to religious services), under conditions strict frameworks recalled by the protocol, adds the ministry.
A protocol applicable until January 3
Regarding people with Alzheimer's disease or neurocognitive disorders, "a dialogue with caregivers and those around them must be encouraged".
"Residents of institutions for the elderly should benefit, like the rest of the general population, from the possibility of spending the end-of-year holidays in the company of their loved ones", stipulates the new protocol applicable from December 15 to January 3.
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These recommendations are addressed to nursing homes and other social and medico-social establishments housing the elderly and "can be adapted by the regional health agencies (ARS) according to the local health situation", specifies the protocol.
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The ARS are also "responsible, in conjunction with the prefectures and departmental councils, to ensure the mobilization of pools of professionals (particularly through overtime or fixed-term contracts), external stakeholders and volunteers likely to intervene in support. ".
