Visitors Pod

The pod allows for off unit visits and can also double up as a safe designed area for visitors to be tested.

In recent months, it has been difficult to switch on the news without seeing the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic is having on the care sector. Reports of elderly residents unable to see their families for months on end, partners of fifty years not able to see each other except over FaceTime, people separated from their loved ones with little end in sight. And few areas of the social care sector have been hit harder than the already challenging area of dementia care. For people with dementia, maintaining regular contact with the people in their lives has shown to be beneficial for both mental and physical health.

Yet, for many people who require care after contracting COVID, contact with family is key to recovery. However, due to the nature of the virus, this basic requirement has been increasingly difficult for both care homes and hospitals to manage.

This problem has been a particular concern for the team at Moston Grange Care Home in Manchester, with the need for additional testing and cleaning between each book visit adding to the pressure although faced by care home currently. We looked for an initiative solution to support those who live at Moston, to have as much access to their loved ones as possible.

The solution was a bespoke visiting pod. The purpose designed visiting pod has been built off site and can be transported to any location where it is needed, making it an ideal solution to the problem faced by the home. The pod allows for off unit visits and can also double up as a safe designed area for visitors to be tested. To reduced additional pressure on the staff within the home, the pod uses UV technology to automatically clean the room after use, ready for the next visit.

It is hoped that this latest innovation will be ground breaking for the residents at the home and for all the families who have been largely separated since March 2020 and will offer some relief for those who have found themselves isolated until a vaccine becomes widely available.

The home prides itself on finding creative ways to improve the lives of everyone who lives there and this latest project more than fits the bill!

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