Hospital patients and care home residents across Coventry and Warwickshire are being helped to stay in touch with family and friends during the COVID-19 crisis thanks to innovative use of technology.
Social distancing guidelines to reduce the spread of the virus mean that many families and friends cannot visit each other in hospital or care settings.
Warwickshire care homes are rising to the new challenges of keeping families connected. Care homes are providing access to online applications, such as Zoom, Skype and Facetime to help families stay in touch and even celebrate birthdays with ‘virtual’ birthday parties.
The daughter of one resident who suffers from dementia uses the technology to read her mum a book – something she always did whenever she visited in person prior to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Councillor Les Caborn, portfolio holder for adult social care and health at Warwickshire County Council said:
“Helping residents look after their health and wellbeing is so important at the moment and these measures have been introduced with this in mind.
“We are working closely with our commissioned services and partners to ensure that while we are all following social distancing, friends and families can keep in touch with their loved ones while they are in hospitals or social care.
“Technology means that we can keep people connected, whether this is through sending messages, talking over the phone or even video calls. It’s great for patients to know that loved ones at home are thinking of them, even when they can’t visit.”
South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust, which covers Warwick, Leamington, Stratford and Ellen Badger hospitals has launched a Post4Patients service. This new service allows loved ones to send personal stories, photos and messages to patients by emailing the secure inbox post4patients@swft.nhs.uk. Alongside this, the trust has received donated mobile phones and iPads which patients can use to talk to families and friends.
University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust – which also includes Hospital of St Cross at Rugby – has introduced ‘Thinking of You’, an online service through which loved ones can send messages and photographs by filling in an online form at www.uhcw.nhs.uk.
The daughter of one patient commented:
“The ‘Thinking of You’ message was a great way to encourage my mum to stay strong and to remind her that even if we are out of sight she is never out of our mind. She phoned me and cried when she received all of her messages. It really made her feel loved.”
At George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust in Nuneaton, staff have launched the ‘Letters for Loved Ones’ scheme. Messages, letters and photographs to patients can be sent by email to LoveLetters@geh.nhs.uk, or via a phone call or a text message to 07818 510483. Relatives and friends are asked to provide the patient’s full name, date of birth and the ward that they are staying on. A team of specially-trained volunteers then ensure messages are delivered to the patients on the wards.
Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Partnership Trust – which provides a wide range of mental health and learning disability services for people of all ages in Coventry and Warwickshire and a wide range of community physical health services for people in Coventry – have provided patients with access to tablets to make video calls. Staff are also supporting patients with using WhatsApp.
Coventry City Council is also helping those it cares for stay in touch with loved ones.
With an average age of 90 and diagnoses of dementia and various other underlying health conditions, the residents of care home Eric Williams House in Coventry are in the very high-risk group. Staff there are utilising the ‘Hangouts’ app, Skype video calls, WhatsApp and Facebook. Some residents are facetiming loved ones for the first time ever. For residents unable to use technology to the same extent, team leaders contact families weekly and send photographs via email or post letters.
The daughter of one resident messaged staff:
“Just seen the updates on Facebook and I’m sitting here crying happy tears. You are all so amazing and are literally our lifeline. I know you are under a lot of pressure and probably have high anxiety but yet you carry on with the same happy faces and loving nature you always have. I really don’t know what we would do without you, you are not only a tower of strength for the residents and each other but for us families too. You truly are heroes and I’ll never be able to thank you enough for everything you do, I clap harder and louder every week for you, you are beautiful, wonderful people and I just had to tell you that.”