People’s rights to meaningful connection with others 

Staying connected with the people who matter to you is essential to everyone’s health and wellbeing and forms part of our human rights. Every adult and older person living in a care home has the right to connect with family, friends and community. They have the right to have visits and to go out if they wish. Care homes must support this and should not put any barriers or restrictions in place. 

Scotland’s Health and Social Care Standards set out what people should expect when using health, care or social work services. In 2022, two additional Standards were introduced that cover the right to visit even if there is an outbreak of infectious disease.

The Care Reform (Scotland) Act was passed in June 2025. This enshrines Anne’s Law into legislation, upholding the rights of people living in adult care homes to see their loved ones and identify Essential Care Supporters [add link to factsheet]. The Anne’s Law Code of Practice explains how Anne’s Law should work day to day.

We have produced a poster which informs people about their rights. 

What you can expect from your care home

The Care Inspectorate’s job is to make sure services are delivering good-quality care and support that respects people’s rights, needs and wishes. That includes making sure that people who live in care homes are supported to:

• maintain connections with family, friends and community
• spend time with the people who matter
• take part in activities that are meaningful

We expect care homes to support visiting and we have published a factsheet which explains how visiting should be supported in normal and exceptional circumstances. 

We advise care homes on good practice that supports people to stay connected with their loved ones and take part in their community. Where this support is not happening, we can use our powers to ensure that it does. 

If you are interested more generally in what we expect care homes to deliver, our quality framework for care homes for adults and older people guides care home providers on what we look at when we inspect and the quality we expect from them. 

How visiting and going out should normally work  

We expect people who live in care homes to be able to see their visitors at any time and without restriction. This includes outings from the home. Children and pets should be welcome to visit.

Care homes should not operate booking systems or restrict when people can visit or go out. Visitors should not have to give notice, and visits and outings should not have a time limit.  Visitors should be able to access the home easily and without unnecessary delay.

Family carers should be included as partners in care, and should be able to be directly involved in supporting their loved one with day-to-day care if this is what they both want.

Good hand hygiene should always be followed, and you should not enter a care home if you are potentially infectious with any illness.

Essential Care Supporters

An Essential Care Supporter is one or more people identified by a resident as playing an important role in their wellbeing and care. This is likely to be a close family member or friend.

They are not simply a visitor – they may provide emotional support and companionship, help with communication, or support with day-to-day care. It is likely that it would cause harm to the person if they could not see them.

What happens in exceptional circumstances? 

Sometimes, for example during an outbreak of infectious illness, a care home may need to introduce temporary restrictions or suspension of visiting to keep people safe. If this happens:

• any restrictions must be necessary, proportionate, and for the shortest possible time
• decisions must be based on a careful assessment of risk
• restrictions must be reviewed regularly and lifted as soon as possible.

Even in these situations, care homes must continue to support in-person visiting, including for Essential Care Supporters, unless there is a very serious risk that cannot be reduced in any other way.

People visiting the home may be requested to follow additional infection prevention and control precautions, such as wearing a face covering.

The care home should ensure that information about any temporary restrictions, along with the expected duration of restrictions, is clearly communicated to all relevant people. 

If you are worried that visiting is being restricted unfairly, you can speak to the care home or contact the Care Inspectorate for advice and support. You have the right to ask the care home to review a decision to suspend visiting.

Technology and meaningful contact 

People in Scotland who experience care are increasingly relying on digital connectivity and technology to support their wellbeing and daily activities, however, we recognise this may not meet needs for everyone.  We have published a practice guide for care services on how technology and digital devices can be used to make a positive impact on health and wellbeing for people experiencing care.

What to do if you are unhappy 

If you feel your care home is not supporting visiting and connection in the right way, or have other concerns about standards of care, you can raise it in the first instance with the care home manager. This is often the quickest way to resolve a problem. However, if you remain concerned, you can tell us, and we will ensure concerns are addressed properly and in good time. Visit our complaints page to find out more. You can also contact the Meaningful Connection, Visiting and Anne’s Law project team directly at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..