Relatives raise concerns over visitation limits at Golden Age Home
Published:Thursday | February 26, 2026 | 12:07 AMSashana Small/Staff Reporter
The relatives of a resident at the Golden Age Home in Vineyard Town, Kingston, are voicing concern over a visitation policy that prevents family members from accessing the wards.
The family member, who requested anonymity to protect their loved one’s identity, said the restriction was introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic and has remained in effect.
“The facility is not open to the public, where if I want to go visit her, I am not able to do so,” a relative said.
The administration of the state-run residential care facility told The Gleaner that the policy took effect on April 20, 2023, following an administrative review of operational risks and infection prevention standards. The management said the measures align with best practices for residential care facilities.
“This approach helps reduce the risk of transmitting infectious illnesses and minimises disruptions to clinical care, resident rest periods, and cluster routines. It also helps to ensure the privacy, dignity, and safety of all residents housed within shared cluster environments,” said Zonia Foster-Forbes, general manager of the Golden Age Home.
She said the home, which houses 448 residents, facilitates visits daily between the hours of 10 a.m. and noon as well as between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. Visits are done in designated areas at the facility, including the therapeutic gardens and gazebos, and are coordinated to ensure supervision and support for residents, she added.
MEANINGFUL CONTACT
“This arrangement allows residents to maintain meaningful contact with their relatives while ensuring that safety, privacy, and operational standards are maintained. Staff members assist residents who require physical support during visits,” Foster-Forbes told The Gleaner.
She added that staff members keep a respectful distance to preserve privacy. For residents receiving intensive medical care or those unable to be transported to visiting areas, the Social Services Department arranges video and voice calls between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Relatives, however, argue that the policy is affecting their loved one’s mental well-being.
“I don’t know how her room looks. I haven’t seen how her space looks. She is very depressed,” a relative told The Gleaner. “If you want these people to remain in the best of care and healthy and alive, they need people to come and see them on a regular basis to know that, ‘hey, I care about you, I want to see you, and ensure that you are in the best of care’.”
Another family member noted that prior to the restrictions, relatives were allowed onto the wards and often assisted with caregiving tasks.
“Normally, we could go right on the cluster and help her. If she wants to tidy, we could tidy her, change her bed, feed her, do everything,” she stated.
“[Now,] if she can’t push herself down to the gate, or have a hospital visit where we have to go to the hospital to see her, or these inconsistent day passes that they give out to the patients there, I can’t see off my free will,” the relative said.
NEW POLICY
The Bustamante Hospital for Children recently launched a Family Caregivers Programme policy pilot.
The policy aims to integrate designated family caregivers as essential partners in the care process through a standardised national framework. Its primary objective is to create a structured, safe, and supportive environment where selected caregivers participate in patient care, enhancing patient comfort, safety, and satisfaction.
The Golden Age Home falls under the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development.
Sharing that their family member is very sickly, the relatives say she was brought to the facility almost a decade ago because they were not in a position to take care of her.
“It was at a place where we couldn’t help her in the way we can. we couldn’t fund these things, and the best situation for her was to stay at the one of these Golden Age Home, where she is in the care of the nurses. If there is an emergency, [an] ambulance is onsite that she can get access to ... . If we could have gotten her out, that would have been the situation from long time,” the resident said.