Businesses team up to bring festive cheer to Milton Keynes care home with COVID-safe visiting booth

Residents of a care home in Milton Keynes will be able to safely see and hug loved ones over the festive period after local businesses teamed up to build a COVID-secure visiting booth free of charge just days before Christmas Eve.

Grand Union Plumbing and Heating boss, Mitch Moxon stepped in after seeing a call for help on the Tattenhoe Traders Facebook page. Grand Union offered to supply all labour free of charge and spent a full day at Bletchley House building the booth.

Bedford Building Plastics Ltd, a local building supply company, supplied all of the required materials while artist Joanne Norris of Crazy Faces by Jo volunteered to paint the new booth to create a warm and welcoming environment for visitors.

The new visitor booth means those visiting Bletchley House will no longer need to stand outside in the cold and wet winter weather to speak to loved ones through the window.

The secure, dry booth allows visitors to remain warm and avoid the worst of the winter weather while still being able to see and speak to residents.

The visiting booth also includes a COVID-secure hug window, with the visitor able to place their arms into special gloves and physically - and safely - hug the person they are visiting.

Mitch Moxon, director of Grand Union Plumbing and Heating said: “We are pleased to be able to help out in our local community.

"When we first visited the site we got an idea of how much a visiting booth like this would really help and how it could make a difference not just now over the festive period but in the months of uncertainty we’re still facing.

"We were especially motivated to help after seeing visitors standing outside the windows of the home in the freezing cold in order to be able to visit family members.

"Seeing the booth in use makes all of our hard work worthwhile!”

Nicki Woolley, who is the administrator of the Tattenhoe Traders Facebook page and who initially issued the plea for help said: “I have great pleasure in announcing that the 'visiting pod' we built at Bletchley House Care Home is finished and ready to use.

"This has been a long time coming for us, we've had a few challenges along the way but our amazing traders managed to complete this pod with very little notice.

"I cannot express how grateful Bletchley House Care Home and I are to everyone who has made this possible.

"I would like to thank our trusted traders, Mitch Moxon director of Grand Union Plumbing and Heating Ltd and his work colleagues Andy Rine, Corey Merritt and Mark Tiller for their amazing contribution to this project.

"They built this pod in a day! They are really amazing guys who just went all out to help me at their busiest time of year.

"Thank you also to Scott Casey of Bedford Building Plastics Ltd for supplying the materials and the perspex, again nothing was too much for him.

"Also to First Avenue Supplies Ltd for the gloves which will enable the residents to touch and hug their families after so long, and the cleaning materials to keep the pod COVID safe.

“Finally, a big thank you to another of our trusted traders Joanne Norris manager of Crazy Faces by Jo for the lovely canvas and paintings in the pod.

"A lovely touch by Jo is the canvas can be removed and hung on the wall when the pod is no longer needed. Big shout out to Tracey Burberry for nominating her care home for this pod in the first place.”