Relatives & Residents Association

R&RA’s director, Helen Wildbore, spoke at our AGM about our work to champion the rights of older people needing care 22 July 2021 I joined R&RA as director in October 2019 and nothing could have prepared me for the challenges 2020 would bring. The pandemic, and measures taken to manage it, have had a devastating impact […] Read More...

19 July 2021:   Today has been dubbed ‘freedom day’. People across England regain their freedoms after 16 months of restrictions impacting on everyday life, including where they can go and who they can meet. Yet, for people living in care, we fear very little will change. Visiting guidance for care homes has been reissued […] Read More...

The Relatives and Residents Association has published a guide for care homes on Visiting and the Law. It provides an overview of the legal duties on care providers relevant to visiting, with worked examples and pointer questions. The guide is not legal advice, but we hope it will help care homes to explore their visiting policies […] Read More...

28 May 2021: A political drama played out this week on the Government’s response to the pandemic. During seven hours of evidence to MPs, the former chief advisor to the Prime Minster set out some serious allegations about Government failings which he said meant ‘tens of thousands of people died who didn’t need to’. Dominic […] Read More...

26 May 2021: The Relatives & Residents Association has expressed disappointment and despair at the Care Quality Commission’s abdication of responsibility which has left older people in care at continued risk. In a letter exchange with the CQC, the charity had set out how older people needing care have been badly let down by the […] Read More...

The Relatives & Residents Association has expressed continued disappointment with the role the Care Quality Commission has taken during the pandemic. In a letter to the regulator, R&RA’s chair outlines how older people needing care have been badly let down by the CQC. As a human rights crisis unfolded in care – with isolation infringing […] Read More...

12 May 2021: As care homes reopen to visitors, our helpline has heard about the concerning use of disclaimers. One relative got in touch about a disclaimer they had been asked to sign to confirm that they understood the risk of COVID-19 and would comply with infection control procedures but it also contained very broad, […] Read More...

5 May 2021 In a hard-hitting report on visiting restrictions during the pandemic, the Joint Committee on Human Rights has echoed many of the calls in R&RA’s campaign to End Isolation In Care. It follows our evidence session with the Committee in which R&RA’s director highlighted the detrimental impact of a year of isolation and […] Read More...

1 May 2021: The Relatives & Residents Association (R&RA) welcomes the Government’s announcement that residents will no longer have to isolate for 14 days following visits out of their care home which take place outdoors. We are pleased the Government has listened to our calls, and those of families, to end the two week quarantine. […] Read More...

The Relatives & Residents Association has signed an open letter to the Prime Minister calling for a ‘1948 moment’ for social care, to establish a long-term and sustainable future for the sector. The joint letter, signed by 28 organisations and Parliamentarians, recognises that the current system leaves many families struggling to survive as each year thousands […] Read More...