"Visitor restrictions make no sense"

My elderly parent was a patient at Peter James centre for many weeks. Every day I feel the guards at the front of the facility change the ‘rules’ with visiting.  On the weekends they employ two people who it seems to me sit doing nothing at the entrance. I feel their sole function is to enforce what seems to me to be militant out of date rules on poor stressed out and anxious family who want to visit their loved ones.

In my opinion, this establishment has failed to realise how outdated their lockdown restrictions are. Firstly, we have to do a covid test, wear a mask (not just the blue one but the more restrictive one), then we need to sign in. Only 2 visitors a day are allowed and not together even if they reside together and do all of the pre mentioned things. If you get through all of this you are allowed to visit for an hour only. They don’t give you a physio schedule so we never know the right time to come. In order to visit you need an exemption. Why? I have no idea.

The staff wear masks but I believe aren’t required to do covid tests daily yet they have prolonged contact with every patient much longer than a visitor and in close proximity. After and before work, all the people that care for the patients go to the shops, mingle with other people, live with other people and live their life going to pubs, gyms and restaurants with lots of human contact. How does restricting visitors and having what I feel are these outdated ridiculous restrictions help curb the spread of covid? If these rules made any sense I believe the staff would be the ones to be tested daily.

Also, not allowing two visitors in at a time but allowing them to go at seperate times does not make sense to me. I feel it could disrupt the patients schedule more and I believe does absolutely nothing to stop the spread of covid. I recall some days I saw distressed visitors in their cars, or in the car park having been told they can’t see their loved ones, most of whom I believe have limited time left to live. I feel they are inhumane and unnecessary rules.