Care home ‘drive-thru’ is bringing families together
RESIDENTS of a Cardiff nursing home have finally been able see their families after being separated for more than three months.
Penylan House Nursing Home, run by Linc Cymru, closed its doors to visitors on March 17 to protect staff and residents from the Covid-19 outbreak.
To make sure residents weren’t completely cut off from their loved ones, the nursing home – which has provided residential, nursing, dementia and convalescence care for more than 50 years – has been able to arrange video calls through Skype and FaceTime.
But over the weekend, with glorious weather and shielding advice easing in Wales, some families were able to see their relatives at the home for the first time in months thanks to innovative ‘drive-thru’-style visits.
Jesusan Estacio, manager of Penylan House Nursing Home, said: “It was amazing – it was a very emotional day for everyone.
“We have 48 residents living here and on Friday and Saturday, 16 were able to see their relatives with the drive-through visits.
“There was a lot of risk-assessment involved, we had to make sure staff were able to safely transport the residents outside and we had to make sure everyone was safe and protected.
“But it worked well and we were able to allow the top floor of residents to come down.
“They sat at the front with a member of staff and then their families were able to pull up and speak to their relative from their car. Each resident had half an hour with their families which was really nice.”
All staff members had to wear their usual personal protective equipment (PPE) at all times and relatives weren’t able to leave their cars, which were parked at a safe distance – but that didn’t stop anyone enjoying their reunion.
Jane Rotheroe, communications manager for Linc, added: “We did the first drive-thu visits at Capel Grange last week and that was really successful and we were able to do the same at Penylan House over the weekend.
“It was absolutely amazing, we’ve obviously made sure they’ve been able to keep in touch with their families during lockdown but there’s nothing like seeing each other in person.
“It was a very emotional time, there were lots of tears and smiles.
“We’re doing all we can to make sure we can arrange visits for everybody because we know how important it is for their well-being and for their relatives to know that they’re ok.”