Buxton Care Home Residents Reunited With Loved Ones For The First Time Since Lockdown

Residents of a care home in Buxton were overjoyed to be reunited with their loved ones for the first time since the start of lockdown.

The new measures in place at Portland Nursing Home enable families to visit their loved ones face-to-face, in a safe environment.

Like many other care homes, Portland closed its doors to all but essential visitors at the start of the pandemic to protect its residents.

The Buxton-based home is following strict safety procedures, with all visits being carefully organised by the manager in the garden, observing the two-metre social distancing rule.

Kaye Fogarty, home manager at Portland, said: “This has been an incredibly hard time for everyone, so it’s wonderful to be able to introduce socially-distanced visits into Portland.

“Residents have really missed seeing their relatives face to face regularly, so we’re overjoyed to make this happen again in a safe environment.

“We can already see the positive impact it’s having, and it has given a much-needed boost to many of our residents and their families.

“Residents have told us how much they appreciate still being able to go about their daily routines and spend time with each other and now with their families, albeit still at a distance.”

Staff have worked hard to ensure that residents have had regular contact with their families by phone or video call, but close up, face to face conversations have not been possible.

Among the residents thrilled to be able to have visitors again was Suzanne Edwards, who was delighted to see her brother in law, Michael.

Suzanne commented: “It was so nice to get out in the sunshine with family!”

Relatives of other residents also added that “It was so nice to see our loved ones, and they looked really well, warm and well cared for.”