Nursing home launches 'family contact booth'

Friday 19 June 2020

As islanders await the government's green light to see their loved ones in care again, the manager of a local nursing home has come up with a novel solution to the restrictions on physical contact.

Cheval Roc's Chantal Ballingall was inspired to create the phonebox-style booth after being upset to see one of the St. John home's residents unable to be comforted by her daughter due to the covid-19 pandemic.

"...Human contact is very important, even more so when families are apart. I was therefore determined to find a solution so went online initially, then enlisted the help of my husband and the home’s handyman and between us we built the booth," she said.

The result was a States Infection Control-approved Perspex cubicle with arm holes positioned at the correct height with seals, allowing relatives to hold hands.

According to the home, one of the booth's key benefits is that family members inside it don't need to wear facemasks, which can be distressing or confusing.

Pictured: The booth allows family members to touch and hold hands without breaching physical distancing guidelines.

This also allows residents to better recognise their loved ones and see their facial expressions.

Those wishing to use the booth enter via an outside door, which is then shut so that they are not kept outside.

Visitors are provided with full-length disposable gloves before being allowed to place their arms in the arm holes, allowing them to hold hands with their family member and speak in private - without breaching the government's physical distancing guidelines.

After the visitor has left, all surfaces in the booth are wiped down.

Nick Bettany, CEO of LV Care Group, which runs Cheval Roc, said that the booth had received a "fantastic" reaction in its first days of use - so positive, in fact, that the group is now looking to install similar facilities at their other homes across the island.

The booth's launch follows confirmation from Deputy Medical Officer for Health Dr Ivan Muscat yesterday that guidance is being drawn up to allow contact to increase between visitors and hospital and care home residents over the next few weeks.

Pictured: Dr Ivan Muscat confirmed that guidance was being drawn up to allow for more care home visits.

He said he expected that guidance to be released next week.

It is possible at the moment, however, for individuals to see relatives in care in an outdoor setting.

There are currently no positive cases of covid-19 in local care homes. Last week, the Chief Minister said there hadn't been a case identified in such a setting since late March.