A Nottinghamshire care home has unveiled its latest addition to allow friends and family to start visiting their loved ones again.
The Silverwood Care Home in Beeston has had help to raise funds for a designated area to do swab tests for Covid-19, to ensure visitors can safely enter the venue.
An outdoor, wooden summerhouse has been reimagined to become the 'swabbing chalet' providing a more comfortable space for people to get tested for the virus.
More importantly, this then means families can be reunited safely at the care home after spending so much of the past year apart.
The chalet has been made possible by generous donations from the local Freemason's lodge at Chilwell - Peter Zipser and Michael Redgate.
The family of one of the residents, Amy Housley, also put money towards it.
The rest of the funding came directly from staff who felt it was an "important project", with the maintenance team building the chalet and ensuring it met safety guidelines.
A spokesperson for HC-One, which operates Silverwood, said: "We felt that our swabbing process wasn’t clinical or comfortable enough for our visitors.
"They would have to be swabbed in a busy entrance hall or outside and both had their own drawbacks.
"Having the chalet means that relatives can reconnect with their loved ones in a safer environment, making it easier for us all to follow infection control guidelines.
"Having families able to visit again is so important for everyone, residents have missed their families so much, it will be heartwarming to see them back together again.
"It also gives them the chance to take ownership of their own swabbing, allowing them to come in to the home safely."
Debra Meynell, the 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."
