Care home in Wigan builds visitation lodge so families can reunite safely

A care home in Wigan has built a Covid-secure lodge that allows families to visit relatives despite local lockdown rules in the area.

Currently, care home visits are banned in Greater Manchester, however, this care home in Wigan has ensured both residents and visitors will be safe.

There are separate entrances and exits and the lodge is divided into two with a large perspex screen.

This means families and the residents will enter into the visitation lodge in different ways and talk through the screen.

Granada Reports showcased the lodge on ITV News, with one family visiting their gran. 

Angela Cullen told the programme: “To be able to come and sit and be with them in person, you can just see my gran’s little face light up because I can bring the children in.” 

Abigail added: “it is really good because you can just see her in person, it’s so much better than face time.” 

The lodge, which is the only facility of its kind, cost £80,000, but the care home explains that it is ‘transforming lives’. 

Gail Howard of Lakeside Care Home said, while talking about lockdown: “It was horrendous, for loved ones, for families, for staff. Everyone felt isolated, there was no human contact – everyone was terrified.”

Gail explained that the lodge was designed to help connections with families that were broken in lockdown: “The idea of the retreat is to make sure people can connect physically, by looking in each other eyes and seeing how they physically feel, how they are rather than telephone calls.” 

Adding that the lodge keeps ‘everybody loved and secure really’. 

Care home resident Margaret, explains that ‘it’s great’ because ‘we’re quite a close family’.

Granddaughter Angela added that the lodge has ‘taken 10 years’ off her gran now they are able to see her, adding that she has ‘lit up’.

The lodge also meant the family could celebrate Margaret’s 95th birthday together.