Colleagues at HC-One’s Silverwood care home in Nottingham opened their new testing chalet early this March, to ensure the home is more secure from the threat of coronavirus.
Silverwood care home Colleagues felt that their swabbing process wasn’t clinical or comfortable enough for their visitors. They would have to be swabbed in a busy entrance hall or outside and both had their own drawbacks.
It was decided that an outdoor testing booth would be the best way forward, to make sure no one enters the home unchecked and that they are safe from the wind and rain.
Colleagues contacted the local Freemason’s lodge at Chilwell. Peter Zipser and Michael Redgate very generously offered to help with some of the funding for the chalet and the family of Amy Housley, one of Silverwood’s Residents, also heard of the project and donated towards it.
Having the chalet means that Relatives can reconnect with their loved ones in a safer environment, making it easier for everyone to follow infection control guidelines. Having families able to visit again is so important for everyone, especially Silverwood’s Residents who have missed their families so much.
Debra Meynell, Silverwood Home Manager said: “It has been a very difficult year and we have all been through so much, to now have such a positive step forward is going to be amazing.”
“If it wasn’t for the amazing team I have at Silverwood, things like this just wouldn’t be possible.”