Visitors pod at care home
LEE MOUNT Care Home has come up with an inventive way for families to visit their loved ones.
The care home wanted to help enable families to see their relatives in a more suitable way after visits were restricted to seeing family through windows or on video calls.
So they have installed a visitors pod in their garden, and manager Manjinder Dhiman says the response has been amazing.
“The majority of family members and residents are so very excited to once againbe able to see each other,” he said. “Mark, a son of one of our residents Maria, was so happy that the visiting pod was now available as for him and his brother to not have been able to see their mum has just been devastating. Maria was also just so happy to have conversation face to face with her son for the first time in nearly a year.
“We have spoken to all our residents and families about the pod and they couldn’t be happier in what we have put in place, other than everything just getting back to normality!
“We have missed having residents’ families involved with the service as it is so important for their input in how the service is run.
“The visiting pod has been quite a big project and with the support of the local authority we have managed to put something in place which looks fantastic and has all the safety measures in place such as two seprate entrances, one which has wheelchair access, a built in protective screen, intercom and heating. With the addition of Lateral Flow Testing on site, this will ensure the most safe and comfortable visit possible. The only thing left to do is maybe some decor on the inside of the pod which will make it more homely, which is a project we have in mind for our residents to take part in.
“The pod is not the perfect solution and we may face challenges down the line. However, as a service, we always keep positive and feel this is a big step forward.
“We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved with Lee Mount as, even in these extremely difficult times, we have all pulled together as a big family and done our best to care and support the ones that we love.”