Family Build 'Visiting Pod' To Allow Care Home Visits

The coronavirus pandemic has been hard-going for all of us, but spare a thought for those who live in care homes.

Hundreds of those in residential care have been unable to see their loved ones since the first lockdown in March in a bid to stop the spread of Covid-19 to those more vulnerable.

So when Chris Warden heard about the plight of residents at Cedar Falls Care Home in Walsall, West Midlands, he decided to do something to help out.

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Hearing about the firm from wife Kelly, who works as a mobile hairdresser, Chris and his father-in-law Patrick Smith constructed a small wooden room with a perspex shield so families can finally see loved ones at the care home.

The pod, which only cost £200 to construct, has massively improved morale for those at the home.

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And it is was a huge undertaking for Chris, who admitted having never even put up a shelf before until the beginning of the year.

"I didn't know if I would be able to but I thought I would give it a go," he explained.

"We went down and completed it on Saturday and it looks amazing - they are over the moon with it.

"All of the staff are looking forward to seeing a change in the residents.

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"It's a wooden room that reaches the ceiling, with a 3mm perspex so they can talk to each other through it.

"They can walk through the care home's gardens to get there so they won't have to enter the care home at all."

After his good deed, Chris is now hoping other care homes will follow in their footsteps, and is now raising money to help them install the same pod to allow residents to have contact with the outside world.

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Cedar Falls provides personal care to 38 people aged 65 and over.

Helda Everitt, manager of the residence, said: "I was ecstatic when I found out Chris was going to build the pod for us.

"The residents haven't been able to see their families since March so it was time we installed something like this.

"The residents all have dementia but they have all seen it and they all love it.

"All care homes should consider installing a visiting pod; the fact it has been donated is fantastic and we are so grateful."

Topics: Life News, Life, Coronavirus, Covid-19

Kimberley Bond

Kim is a journalist at Tyla, and has previously worked at the Evening Standard, Radio Times as well as several national newspapers. A showbiz obsessive and a television fanatic, Kim is particularly interested in celebrity gossip, A-list events and the latest releases on either the big or small screen. Contact her at [email protected]

@0xKimberley