The Trust which runs Hinchingbrooke and Peterborough City hospitals has had an overwhelming response to its ‘Letters from Loved Ones’ initiative, since it launched in April.
The North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, which is also responsbile for Peterborough City and Stamford and Rutland hospitals has received more than 250 letters for patients and is appealing for more.
Visiting is currently restricted due to infection control, but families and friends have been able to keep in touch with patients on wards during the pandemic by sending them get well messages and family photos.
Staff have them printed and laminated and then hand the letters and photos to the patient to keep.
Jo Bennis, chief nurse at the Trust, said: “Receiving letters of support from loved ones has made a real difference to patients, reminding them that, despite not being allowed visitors, they are not alone. We have also received lots of positive feedback from relatives, who have found comfort in the knowledge that their words can be passed on.
“Sadly some patients will be receiving palliative care and while we try to give the family the chance to say goodbye in person, the risk to them is sometimes too great, especially if they have an underlying health condition. These letters provide them with the opportunity to say goodbye.”
One gentleman who wrote several letters to his elderly mother during her hospital stay said: “Thank you so much for passing on my emailed letter to my mother; although she was very sleepy and eventually succumbed to Covid-19, I believe she would have heard and been comforted by hearing from her family.”
Messages can be sent via email:nwangliaft.lettersforlovedones@nhs.net – please ensure your email includes the patient’s name, hospital name, the ward they are being cared for on and the bay they are in (if known).
If your loved one is at Hinchingbrooke Hospital, please address your letter to:
Letters For Loved Ones
Patient Experience Team
C/o Head of Patient Experience
Hinchingbrooke Hospital
Hinchingbrooke Park
Huntingdon
Cambridgeshire.
Letters For Loved Ones at Peterborough City Hospital
Patient Experience Team
Dept. 418
Peterborough City Hospital
Bretton Gate
Peterborough
PE3 9GZ.
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