Steel which is easy to clean in order to keep sanitised is being used to create innovative modular meeting rooms allowing care home residents to meet their families safely.
The brainchild of Splash – an event space design business based in Stockport – the VisitorPod uses a high-quality Tata Steel product which, as well as having a long life span and being recyclable, can resist intensive cleaning keeping residents and visitors safe.
Selected for its ‘clean’ credentials, Tata Steel’s Advantica® L Control is being used on the interior walls and ceiling of the care home pod.
Tom Eussen, Director of Tata Steel Downstream Operation, said: “We all face challenging times and being able to remain in touch with loved ones who are in care is so important. The VisitorPod is an ideal solution as not only can it be installed quickly and later repurposed, but the unique properties of the steel used mean it can be kept safe for care home residents, staff and visitors.”
The owners of Splash Nathan Blythe and Darren Ashcroft, were the brains behind the new VisitorPod.
“2020 forced us to diversify, and we quickly realised that our design and build skills could support the growing need for a safe space for families to visit their relatives in care homes,” said Nathan.
“The VisitorPod is delivered onsite as pre-finished steel insulated panels. Its modular structure makes it easy to assemble. The pod can be positioned in a garden, on a carpark, or on a patio – wherever there’s space – and can be relocated or reconfigured as required.”
While VisitorPod will provide a safe space to enable face-to-face interaction between care home residents and their families during the pandemic. In the future, they can be used as ongoing treatment rooms or creative spaces, enabling care homes to make the best use of the additional space.
Advantica® L Control has many product benefits, including its ease of cleaning, and anti-static properties, reducing the attraction of dust and dirt. The best way to ensure surfaces are free of microbes, including viruses, is regular intensive cleaning. The product is sufficiently robust to withstand this, which is important for this type of application.
The first VisitorPod was installed at a care home in East Yorkshire just before Christmas.
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For further information: Damien Brook on +44 (0)7818 588545 or damien.brook@tatasteeleurope.com
About Tata Steel’s European operations
Tata Steel is one of Europe's leading steel producers, with steelmaking in the Netherlands and the UK, and manufacturing plants across Europe. The company supplies high-quality steel products to the most demanding markets, including construction and infrastructure, automotive, packaging and engineering. Tata Steel works with customers to develop new steel products which give them a competitive edge. The Tata Steel group is among the top global steel companies with an annual crude steel capacity of 34 million tonnes. It is one of the world's most geographically-diversified steel producers, with operations and a commercial presence across the world. The group’s turnover (excluding its South East Asia operations) in the year ending 31 March 2020 was US $19.7 billion.