A new service has been launched in the Melksham area, designed to make it easier for people to make video calls to friends and family.
Since the launch of the first lockdown and the various restrictions that have been in place, many people have been unable to meet up with friends and family and have not had face-to-face contact with them for months.
The new service launched by Age Friendly Melksham CIC will see a team of volunteer Face2Face Facilitators recruited who will take an iPad to a user’s home and set up a video call to family or friends for them. Once the call is completed, the volunteer will return and take the iPad away again. Users will be able to request regular use of the iPad for calls subject to availability.
Chair of Age Friendly Melksham, Jon Hubbard explains, “The equipment we use is fitted with its own 4G sim card, so people won’t need to have Internet access to be able to use the service. Many of us see making calls via Zoom, WhatsApp or Facetime as the norm, but for a significant number of people, this currently is just not an option.
“We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy Face2Face conversations with their loved ones, so we are providing this service at no cost to the user.”
The organisation chose to use iPads for the service because it is so easy to clean and sanitise them before and after every use. Procedures are in place to help ensure the risks of contamination from using the shared resource are minimised.
Jon continued, “We are particularly grateful to Blenheim House Care Home who generously donated to the project and have made this affordable for us to deliver, and also to the fantastic volunteers who give up their time to make this service available to residents in our community.”
Anyone who lives in the Melksham community area can request use of the service. To make a referral or to book a call simply call 01225 809265 or register online at https://agefriendlymelksham.org.uk/face2face.