South Petherton Community Hospital, Somerset

At South Petherton community hospital we are working hard on keeping our patients as safe while maintaining the flow of admissions and discharges where possible. We are looking at new ways of communicating with patients and their families, for example by using skype to allow relatives to see their family members at this time, and conference calls/ zoom meeting as family meetings. Everybody is being very creative and thinking outside the box to make things as smooth as possible for our patients and their families and I am so impressed by the entire multidisciplinary team and their resilience through these unprecedented times.

We have had generous donations from members of staff of colouring pencils, pens, crayons and felt tip pens for the patients, and our activity co-ordinator has been busy making up bespoke patient specific activity packs for each patient. A local dentist and hair dresser have donated toothpaste and shampoo/ conditioner to our patients, which has been an incredible help when we do not have family members visiting to top up the patients supplies. Local children have also written cards for our patients to brighten their day at this time which the patients were so delighted with.

Staff are being supported across the Trust in various ways – for example the wellbeing team organised Easter eggs for everybody, and the Trust have organised meals each day from Somerset Larder to be delivered to each hospital for staff which is ever so kind.

We have also been up-skilling staff in clinical skills like verification of death, IV's, PICC lines, cannulations, so that we can care for a wider range of patients in the community hospitals freeing up capacity in the acute and reducing transfers back if people deteriorate.

The team are incredible and I feel both proud and privileged to be their manager – my true NHS heroes in our small corner of the world.