Anne's Law - How A Family's Story Changed Care Home Visits in Scotland

Anne Duke was a care home resident in Scotland in 2020 who was diagnosed with early-onset dementia in her 50s, and by the time the pandemic arrived, she was living in a care home in East Kilbride, relying on the daily presence of her family to help her feel safe and cared for. Her daughter, Natasha Hamilton, had always been a central part of her mother's care, not just a visitor, but a lifeline.

When the pandemic hit and care homes closed their doors to family members, Natasha found herself locked out. The visits stopped, the connection was severed, and for a woman living with dementia, that separation carried a weight that went beyond loneliness.

Anne passed away in 2021, but her story and the love her family had for her set something in motion that Scotland will not forget.

In November 2020, at the height of the public health emergency, Natasha Hamilton lodged a petition with the Scottish Parliament, calling for care home residents to be allowed a designated visitor. The petition asked the Scottish Government to allow a named family carer to enter a care home and continue providing care to their loved one, even during outbreak situations.

The response from the public was overwhelming. The petition gathered close to 100,000 signatures, and the campaign quickly gained the support of politicians across all of Scotland's main parties. The group Care Home Relatives Scotland, of which Natasha was a member, championed the cause, calling for a law that would give care home residents the legal right to see at least one care-giving relative, regardless of lockdown levels or restriction measures.

The Scottish Government listened. Within the Fairer, Greener Scotland: Programme for Government 2021–22, a formal commitment was made to deliver Anne's Law.

The pandemic laid bare something that many families had long felt but struggled to articulate, and that is that the people who love a care home resident are not just visitors, but carers and companions and, in many cases, an irreplaceable part of the person's daily wellbeing.

During the pandemic, care home residents' visits to and from family and friends were restricted for extended periods of time, often without taking residents' individual circumstances into account. For people living with dementia, or those approaching the end of their lives, the absence of familiar faces and loving hands caused harm that was not always visible in clinical terms, but was felt nonetheless.

Their experiences made it clear that having meaningful connections with loved ones is important especially for people who need the extra support that a care home offers. The law that followed was Scotland's answer to that truth.

Anne's Law was built carefully, in stages, with each step reinforcing the one before it.

Updated Health and Social Care Standards (2022)

The first milestone came in March 2022, when two new Standards were introduced to Scotland's national Health and Social Care Standards, setting out the expectation that people living in care homes should have the right to see someone who is dear to them even during a COVID-19 outbreak and be able to name a person (or more) who could directly participate in meeting their care needs. The Care Inspectorate was tasked with considering whether these standards were being met when registering, inspecting, and supporting homes.

These standards were not yet law, but they sent a clear signal about the direction Scotland was heading.

The Care Reform (Scotland) Act 2025

A significant step came on 10 June 2025, when the Scottish Parliament voted unanimously to pass the Care Reform (Scotland) Bill. Section 40 of the Act, titled ‘Visits to or by care home residents’, formally enshrined Anne's Law in statute, introducing the role of the Essential Care Supporter and establishing the legal right to visits.

Natasha Hamilton, whose original petition set this journey in motion, was closely involved in the development of the legislation, a point acknowledged by Social Care Minister Tom Arthur in his statement to Parliament.

The Regulations and Code of Practice (2026)

The final piece fell into place in early 2026. The Care Home Services (Visits to and by Care Home Residents) (Scotland) Regulations 2026 were approved unanimously by the Scottish Parliament on 4 March 2026 and came into force on 31 March 2026. Alongside them, a statutory Code of Practice was published to explain how Anne's Law should work day to day.

What Anne's Law Actually Does

Anne's Law is a series of legal acts and regulations that give new duties to care homes to strengthen the rights of people living in adult care homes to see and spend time with people who are important to them.

The Right to Visit

Anne's Law establishes in law that care homes must allow and support visiting. Visiting can only be suspended in limited circumstances where it is necessary to prevent a serious risk to life, health or wellbeing, and where statutory requirements are met.

Care homes should not operate booking systems or restrict when people can visit or go out. Children and pets are welcome. Outings from the home are supported. The expectation is one of openness, not restriction.

One of the most meaningful changes Anne's Law introduces is the formal recognition of Essential Care Supporters. An Essential Care Supporter is one or more people identified by the resident as playing an important role in their wellbeing and care, likely a close family member or friend.

Anne's Law also includes a legal presumption that suspending visits from an Essential Care Supporter is likely to cause serious harm to the resident’s health and wellbeing. This is a shift that places the burden of justification firmly on the care home, not on the family.

Even in the rare circumstances where visiting is suspended, care homes are still required to facilitate visits for those nearing the end of their life, or when stopping visits would cause greater harm than the risks involved. These are known as Essential Visits, and they cannot be withheld simply because a general suspension is in place.

Anne's Law strengthens communication between care homes and those affected by a visiting suspension must be notified. There is also a legal duty that decisions to suspend visiting can be challenged, and people will be able to request reviews of these decisions, making sure the voices and needs of those living in care homes are truly heard.

As the regulatory body for care homes in Scotland, compliance with the duties placed on care home providers will be overseen by the Care Inspectorate. Care home providers must also notify the Care Inspectorate of any visiting suspensions adding a layer of transparency and accountability that did not previously exist.

The impact of this law reaches well beyond the legal text in the sense that it has changed the way Scotland thinks about care homes and the people who live in them.

For too long, the relationship between a care home and a resident's family was framed around access and permission. Families were visitors. They came and went on the care home's terms. Anne's Law reframes that relationship entirely. Families and friends are now recognised as essential care supporters, key members of their loved one's care team, not just visitors.

The Meaningful Connection, Visiting and Anne's Law Project was set up by the Care Inspectorate with funding from the Scottish Government to support and promote the importance of all types of meaningful connection for people who live in adult and older people's care homes, and to help prepare the sector for the implementation of Anne's Law.

The project is based on the core principle that experiencing connection which is valued, meaningful and person-centred is essential to everyone's health, wellbeing and personhood, and fundamental to human rights.

Care homes across Scotland have had to review their visiting policies, update their practices, and embed a culture of openness. The law does require care homes to actively support it.

Spokesperson for Care Home Relatives Scotland, Cathie Russell, said: 'This law ensures that the damage caused by isolating residents from their loved ones and the importance of recognising residents as members of society is always taken into account.'

Scottish Care, representing care providers, welcomed the legislation warmly: ‘Enshrining the right of care home residents to maintain meaningful connections with those who matter most is a vital human rights milestone.’ 

And from the residents themselves, the words are simple and profound. One resident, quoted in the Anne's Law Code of Practice, put it this way: ‘I would feel lost and alone without my friends and family - they are everything to me.’

Anne's Law did not come from a government policy paper or a committee report. It came from a daughter who could not hold her mother's hand. It came from families who were unable to reach their loved ones.

Anne's Law is Scottish legislation and guidance which strengthens the rights of people living in adult and older people's care homes to stay connected with the people who are important to them. Together with the Health and Social Care Standards, it recognises that meaningful contact is a fundamental right and essential to health, wellbeing, and dignity.

For care providers, Anne's Law highlights the growing importance of balancing safety with residents' rights and meaningful connection. As care services continue to evolve, policies and digital systems that support person-centred care will play an important role in helping providers meet these expectations.