Part 5

Social care and social work: scrutiny and improvement
Chapter 3

Care services

Regulations under section 78: visits to and by adult care home residents

Code of practice on care home residents’ right to visits
78E
1
The Scottish Ministers must prepare a code of practice providing guidance on fulfilling the duties imposed in accordance with sections 78B(1), 78C(1) and 78D(1).
2
The code must provide that in fulfilling those duties the following are to be treated as paramount considerations—
a
the importance to residents of visits in—
i
promoting their dignity,
ii
promoting their physical and mental health and emotional wellbeing, and
iii
realising their human rights,
b
the importance of recognising and supporting the vital role that people who are not care home staff (for example close relatives and friends) play, alongside staff, in providing their loved ones with regular care (including companionship, personal support and advocacy).
3
The code may—
a
provide guidance on how to—
i
implement an effective visiting policy,
ii
adapt personal care plans to include residents’ visiting preferences or requirements,
iii
communicate timeously in writing with those affected about any change to visiting arrangements including the reasons for the change,
b
set out what the Scottish Ministers consider constitutes best practice in—
i
facilitating visits,
ii
care home staff working collaboratively with residents and their friends and families to facilitate visits in the way that best supports residents’ needs,
c
give examples of—
i
the means which providers could use to eliminate or mitigate a serious risk of a kind described in section 78C(2),
ii
factors which may be taken into account in making an assessment about whether the harm caused to a resident in suspending visits outweighs the risk,
d
any other guidance relating to fulfilling the duties mentioned in subsection (1) that the Scottish Ministers consider appropriate.
4
The Scottish Ministers must—
a
publish the code in a manner that is accessible to the public within the period of one year beginning with the day on which this section comes into force,
b
review and, if they consider it appropriate, prepare and publish a new version of the code in such manner as they consider appropriate by the end of each review period, and
c
take such steps as they consider appropriate to promote awareness of the code to providers of care home services for adults.
5
In carrying out a review of the code, the Scottish Ministers must—
a
have particular regard to any representations that have been made to them about the most recent version of the code by—
i
providers of care home services for adults and their staff,
ii
the residents of accommodation provided by those services,
iii
those residents’ family, friends and other visitors, and
b
invite, and take into account, views from SCSWIS on—
i
whether, since the most recent version of the code was published—
A
any trends have emerged in the suspension of internal or external visits (see section 78C(1)),
B
it has identified any areas of concern, or examples of good practice, in relation to the discharge of the duties imposed in accordance with sections 78B(1), 78C(1) and 78D(1),
C
meaningful regard is being had to the code by the providers of adult care home services,
ii
what changes to the code would be appropriate.
6
Before publishing any version of the code, the Scottish Ministers must consult—
a
SCSWIS,
b
Public Health Scotland,
c
such persons, or groups of persons, who they consider represent the interests of—
i
providers of care home services for adults,
ii
the residents of accommodation provided by such care home services, and
iii
the families of such residents.
7
When the Scottish Ministers publish a version of the code, they must also publish an adaptation of that version of the code designed to be understood by people with learning difficulties or other conditions affecting how they process information.
8
In this section, “
review period
” means the period of 5 years beginning with the day on which the latest version of the code was published.
Ss. 78B-78G and cross-heading inserted (7.1.2026 for specified purposes) by Care Reform (Scotland) Act 2025 (asp 9), ss. 14(2), 39(2); S.S.I. 2025/388, reg. 2(1)(2), sch. Pt. 1