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Since April 1, visits to all nursing homes in Sweden have been banned to prevent the spread of covid-19. But it does not exclude that older people can get along with their relatives. At least in the Attendo Enhagss loop. Here, the staff has installed a plexiglass board that is two meters from the windows.
– We understood that it was a longing to meet relatives. This way they can be viewed safely, says COO Eldrin Khan.
Attendo paid the construction costs of around 2,500 SEK. Just over a week after the idea was born, the board had been finalized and opened with the first talks on Thursday. Since family members are prohibited from entering the building itself, the initiative, called Träffpunkten, does not violate the visitor ban.
Can you ensure that the Meeting Point is a safe meeting place?
– Yes, because visitors do not enter the business itself.
Despite the long underwear, the cold can be remembered during the Anna-Lena Iredahl Barkenäs show at the window. But some cold and cold tea is a cheap price to pay for chatting, she believes.
Photo: Josefine Stenersen
The White Bank, carefully placed outside the window for family members to rest her legs on, remains unused when Anna-Lena Iredahl Barkenäs comes to visit her. Since Mom Ann-Marie thinks she hears well enough without the walkie talkie offered by the accommodation, Anna-Lena may be standing by the open window. But there is nothing he wants to see his mother again.
– It is still fascinating how much difference there is in speaking through online conversations and in real life like this. Obviously, it will take a while before I can hug her, but this still feels like a big step in the right direction, says Anna-Lena Iredahl Barkenäs.
Otherwise, they are spoken to daily by phone or video call. Therefore, today’s meeting has more to do with the feeling of being seen than with what is actually said. Some common themes are discussed, such as how Ann-Marie feels and what is scheduled for the day.
– You can hardly imagine what it is to be isolated as a mother, and then be able to talk to her long ago. It is infinitely important. This whole idea is brilliant.
For mother Ann-Marie Iredahl, who is used to speaking to her daughter Anna-Lena in significantly freer circumstances, the unusual environment requires a few minutes of acclimatization. But in the end, communication still works fine.
– It was very unusual and very strange at first. But then you got used to it quickly, so it worked out, she says.
Ann-Marie Iredahl has lived at Attendo Enhagsslingan since August 2017.
Photo: Josefine Stenersen
Now Anna-Lena is waiting that more family members can follow and visit Ann-Marie in the future. This is something that Ann-Marie would greatly appreciate.
– I really hope so. I have a large family in Stockholm and it suits me well, she says.
But it remains to be seen exactly when she and her family will return next time. Anyone who wants to meet their relatives can call and make an appointment. This is the second time that Anna-Lena takes the opportunity to meet her mother; in fact, it was she who opened the meeting point on Thursday.
– You don’t want to reserve all the time. There are others who also want to meet their relatives, she says.
Read more: Ban on visiting homes for the elderly, then the complainant invited to a concert on the balcony
