Ascot care home hosts drive-through visit for families

Families of the care home residents decorated their vehicles with messages of love

A care home hosted a drive-through in its car park to enable residents to see families for the first time in two months.

Lockdown measures were introduced on 23 March and since then Gracewell of Ascot has limited access to the home.

Families of residents were able to drive into the car park and speak to relatives from a safe distance while remaining in their vehicles.

Gracewell manager Raina Jordan said it was a "very emotional experience".

"I can't put into words the emotion that's been around our car park," she said.

"We are so glad that throughout all of this darkness we have been able to do something that actually makes people happy."

Families kept a safe social distance from their loved-ones

Ms Jordan said families had decorated their cars with posters, bunting and messages of love for their relatives.

"There were dogs in cars. It really was a family affair, a joy to see. [There were] not many dry eyes," she added.

Staff were on hand to assist the day went smoothly

Visits have been prohibited to the care home in Burleigh Road in line with the government's social distancing guidelines.

The BBC previously reported about a quarter of known Covid-19 deaths in Great Britain had happened in care homes.

Up to 1 May, there had been 8,312 deaths in care homes in England and Wales where coronavirus was written on the death certificate, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Residents of the care home had not seen their families for more than two months