CARE HOME 'DRIVE-THRU'
Heartwarming moment pensioner, 98, sees great-great-grandson on his first birthday in care home drive-thru visit
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THE heartwarming moment a 98-year-old pensioner sees her great-great-grandson on his first birthday has been captured in a drive-thru visit organised by a care home.
Violet Talbot was able to see little Teddy after staff at a care home in Bessacarr, Doncaster, transformed the car park into a drive-thru for relatives to safely catch up with residents.
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Ms Talbot beamed with joy as one-year-old Teddy was driven past and held up to the window by his mum.
She told that the whole experience was "out of this world" and "a real treat".
"That was absolutely out of this world," the 98-year-old said.
"The only trouble was I felt like crying because I wanted to hug them and yet that was being greedy because this was a real treat to see them in the flesh and it was lovely."
Some elderly residents have been unable to see their loved ones in weeks since lockdown began.
So staff at the Dunniwood Lodge came up with a creative solution by using the car park for relatives to catch up at a safe distance.
There have been no cases of Covid-19 at the home.
On Friday, care workers brought the residents to the entrance of the home, whilst family members drove past in cars, in a 'drive-thru' style meeting.
One family member described the day as "beautiful but very emotional".
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Joanne Booker, manager at Dunniwood Lodge, helped to organise the day and said the response had been "phenomenal".
"It was absolutely amazing," she said.
"We had responses from 17 families who said they would come in and I think we have tripled that so far and we have still got a huge queue waiting to come in as well.
"The residents have really enjoyed it and are still enjoying it and I think the families have got a lot out of it as well."
A local woman tweeted: "Drive through visits at a care home in my area, watch Violet she is so grateful! When she says she was being greedy it killed me. What a lovely lady."
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In similar news, the heartwarming moment a pensioner flung open her window to meet her new great-granddaughter for the first time was captured.
Joan Cartwright, 92, can be seen looking absolutely delighted as she finally gets to see baby Holly after seven weeks of being stuck inside.
The news also comes as government ministers have been accused of 'betraying' care homes for failing to provide coronavirus tests for all staff and residents.
Last month the government pledged to provide testing regardless of symptoms but one survey found only one in four staff who displayed symptoms were actually screened for the deadly bug that has decimated some nursing homes.
But a survey by the National Care Forum and as reported by the Daily Mail found fewer than one in four care home staff who fear they have coronavirus have been screened – with many care homes saying they can’t get any tests at all.
This week it was revealed that coronavirus deaths in UK care homes almost totalled 10,000, including 1,558 in one week.
Covid-19 has had a devastating impact in care homes - and they account for one in four of all coronavirus deaths.
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