"Help from staff to keep in contact with elderly parent during Covid"

My elderly father is a patient in Ward 11 of Wishaw General where he has received excellent medical care and specialist physio, occupational and speech and language therapy to help him recover from a stroke and related complications (fracture and cellulitis).

He has been in hospital for 7 weeks so far and is making gradual, pleasing progress however it is likely that he will remain in hospital for several more weeks before being able to return home. Even during normal times, such a lengthy stay in hospital could be challenging and detrimental for any elderly patient, but covid safety measures have meant that Dad hasn't been able to have any visitors since he was admitted in early October.

However, he, my family and I have been really grateful for the considerable efforts made by all staff, particularly the clinical support workers, to keep Dad in touch with us and to keep us updated of his progress and condition. Gail, Christopher and Shelly have been amazing at initiating calls, logging in to Zoom meetings on the NHS I-pad and generally being a channel of communication between Dad, my elderly Mum and me and my siblings.

Dad is an elderly farmer who has never used a mobile phone and certainly is not tech savvy, so without their help he could easily have felt very isolated, abandoned and less motivated to work on his recovery and rehab. And given our family circumstances (Mum is alone with dementia at home, I live an hour's drive away, my brother is tied to his farm and livestock and my 2 sisters are based overseas) I dread to think where we and most importantly Dad would be without this support.

I have tried my best to note the names of other staff who Dad has mentioned personally, who have taken the time to come to the ward door to exchange laundry for dad, who have answered the ward phone and given quick updates, or have even taken the time to call me with more detailed input regarding Dad's progress, and I know I'll have missed some wonderful folk out, but huge thanks go to the following people: Shelly, Gail, Christopher, Naimh, Connie, Sharon, Marisa, Andrea, Jean, Marie Claire, Liz, Sandra, Charlotte and Karen.

Apologies to those whose names I haven't yet captured, but, to everyone working on Ward 11, please know that Dad feels very well looked after and we are hugely grateful for the invaluable work you all do especially during these challenging Covid times. Thank you.