Restricting visits to people

in residential care without good cause is not on.
We thought we were in a good place with respect to some respite for the Senior Cat. In many ways it has proved to be so but we came up against an unexpected problem yesterday. Visits are being restricted.
There is no good reason for this right now. We are more than happy to go through all the checks required for the Covid19 virus. If they want our 'flu vaccination certificates that's fine. The government requires them to keep a list of people going in and out - names, addresses and phone numbers.
We will even accept the "two visitors at any time" rule. No place wants a horde of people in there even with all the checks. We are less happy with the "only one visit" a day but again that is perhaps understandable.
What we do not like is having to phone a 1800 number the day before to say we are coming and when we are coming. The reason? They do not answer the 1800 number.
I thought this might be just a glitch in the system. Perhaps someone had too much to do or there was a fault in the line. No, there isn't. It just rings out. There is nobody there to answer the call.
I explained this yesterday. It was not the fault of the receptionist and I tried very hard not to vent my frustration on her. In the end she did let me in because I had clean clothes for the Senior Cat.
   "Your visits make him unsettled," said the one member of the staff with whom I do not feel comfortable.
   "He has always been a worrier and right now he needs to be reassured that we are all right," I told her.
   "It's not good for him. He will never settle in if you keep visiting like this."
Really? If we can find a way of getting him home - sadly unlikely but we are still trying - then we will. He can have as many visitors as he likes at home. J... can bring her dogs down for him. G... can "pop in" and discuss a woodwork problem. The two little boys across the road can come and tell him about school and show them what skills they have acquired in the past week. It is all essential for his mental health if not his physical well-being. 
I know visits have tightened up dramatically because of the virus but apparently this unit has always been rather like this. It is said that something like 70% of people in nursing homes never get visits. This sort of attitude however is not helping. What the woman meant by "settle in" is "be completely compliant". What she failed to recognise is that the Senior Cat is still intellectually alert and aware. He is not being difficult - far from  it - but he is aware and he needs the stimulation and emotional support from his friends as well as his family. 
Not many people of ninety-seven can claim the ongoing friendship of so many others but those who can have a right to continue it if at all possible.  That means the 1800 number must be answered and it must be done without questioning the right of residents to visitors.