Dalkeith care home visits set to return thanks to free visitor pod

Grant Steedman (27) from Kirkliston, and William Horsburgh (48) from Bonnyrigg, who recently set-up B.O.S.S Garden Rooms, built the pod at Archview Lodge Care Home for free, but are now crowdfunding to cover the material costs of £6,000.

Grant explained how the idea to build a visitor pod at the care home came about.

He said: “William and I were working on building sites before Covid came. We were going to start our own business and thought it would good to help the community first. Having seen on the news how badly care homes have been affected in particular, we saw an opportunity which would enable us to help bring families together in a private, enclosed, safe area, by providing a visitor pod within the care home grounds.

“William’s Nana was at that care home so we decided to speak to the manager there then we agreed to build a visiting pod for people to see their families.

“We will be finished next week, we have just been waiting on a PVC door to complete the work.

“Otherwise, it took two weeks from start to finish. It would have been sooner but it’s been hard to get materials just now, obviously with Covid going on. However, it’s looking good, and the staff at the home are pleased with it.”

Explaining the design of the innovative new pod, Grant said: “Inside the pod there is a Perspex screen down the middle, which is easy to wipe down after each visit.

“The outer walls are the same so easier to clean quickly and get the next person in. We thought about the design and came up with this idea. With separate entrance doors for both residents and visitors to the pod, this will be a completely safe space for everyone. Usable all year round, it will provide a place where families can just be together again with peace of mind.”

Although Grant and William were pleased to offer their labour for free and fundraise to cover material costs, the pair admit that they hope their act of kindness at the Newmills Road care home can help kick-start their new business venture.

Grant added: “The road we want to go down is building pods for people’s homes, so this is a showcase for that. Letting people see what we can offer. It serves both parties as it gets our name out there and gives us photos to put on our website and stuff.

“We are now just trying to get more money in through the online crowdfunder to cover the costs. We are hoping our business takes off and we don’t have to go back to working on building sites.”

Archview Lodge Care Home manager May McCondichie explained how much the pod will mean to residents.

She said: “Over the last four months, the residents have had no visitors.

“The pod is going to be amazing. It’s going to make such a difference. It’s going to mean safe visiting for the residents and their loved ones.

“At the moment visiting has to be in the garden – that will be for the foreseeable future. It will be great with the pod – visits will be warm and dry and the pod can be used all season round.”

You can help the efforts to cover costs at www.crowdfunder.co.uk/safe-social-visits-in-care-homes.