A BLACKBURN company has hit upon an innovative way to allow relatives to visit loved ones in care homes despite coronavirus restrictions.

Modular Group, based on Frontier Park in Blackburn, specialise in manufacturing glampling pods and lodges used by up market campers.

However, since the onset of the pandemic the company has turned its attention to meet the new and usual demands the crisis has created and now believes it has been able to use it expertise to help those with loved ones stuck in care homes.

Jemma Neilson, who runs the firm with partner Ian, said: “We have heard hundreds of stories where residents haven’t seen their family since March.

“This is of huge concern particularly for those with dementia who do not understand the impact of the pandemic.

“Many families have contacted us to say that their loved ones have deteriorated greatly in the time they have been separated which is truly heart-breaking.”

She added: “Throughout the pandemic we have been trying to create a building solution for the care home sector, a solution to allow care home residents to see their loved ones without compromising on Covid safety.

“We have since launched a range of care home visitor pods.”

The pods work on a similar principle to glamping pods.

Visitors enter the pod, the pod is then taken into a care home and the visitor can meet their loved one while still sealed inside the pod, thus posing no risk of infection.

Modular Group has now launched a range of visitor pods and will be donating a fully built visitor cube style pod worth over £10,000 for free to a care home in Uttoxeter, which had won a competition run by the company, in time for Christmas.

Jemma and Ian were amazed to have found that over 300,000 people responded to their company’s nominate a care home competition, demonstrating the huge demand for their product.

Ms Neilson said: “We would like to further reach out to care homes across the region and further afield in order to help put our buildings in place as a Covid secure solution.

“We believe funding is in place for infection control within the care sector but we would really like to reach out to those who cannot afford the more expensive range, we have now launched a lower cost internal pod.”

The company’s pods can be viewed online.

For more information, visit: https://modularleisurebuildings.co.uk/.