Ward staff acted quickly to source an iPad so that an elderly patient could connect with her family and beloved pet cat. This provided some comfort despite the restrictions on visiting during the pandemic.
We had an elderly lady up at Woodend, if I’m remembering correctly she was 100 years old. She had been in hospital for some time, between ORU, Trauma and Ward 9/10. Her son was shielding so he couldn’t visit when COVID restrictions came into place. He used to call her regularly but as her condition deteriorated, she was less able to talk to him on the phone. Each time she was on the phone she would always ask for Misty, her cat.
At that time, our ward didn’t have an iPad for Virtual Visiting. We knew we didn’t have long, but Quality Improvement Facilitator, Louise, went above and beyond to get one for us and stayed on after her shift to set it up.
A FaceTime call was arranged with the lady’s son and they were able to finally see each other. Misty the cat was on his knee at the time. He held the iPad down to Misty so the lady could hear her purr. Her face lit up! It was wonderful to be able to make this happen for them both.
The lady died quite soon after and Misty was mentioned in the Notice of Death in the newspaper. Misty clearly meant a lot to the lady and I still think about the difference we made by finding out what mattered to her.
Alison Cran
Senior Charge Nurse
NHS Grampian’