A daughter has praised Aintree Hospital staff after nurses used their own phones to let her see her seriously ill father on FaceTime despite him being isolated with coronavirus.
Jayne Van De Graaf-Wood's father Johan was also applauded by medical staff at the hospital as he was discharged after being successfully treated for coronavirus earlier this week.
Mr Van De Graaf, who is 75 and has pre-existing medical conditions, was admitted to Aintree earlier this month after contracting the virus, with doctors warning his family that he was "gravely ill" and to prepare for the worst.
But Jayne, from Litherland, has paid tribute to doctors, nurses, assistants and cleaners in Ward 21 of the hospital after her father recovered enough to be discharged and return home.
She said despite the pressure medical staff at the hospital are under they made sure she was kept in the loop about his treatment regularly and that she could speak to her dad.
Jayne said: "Obviously you are not allowed in the hospital to visit people.
"The nursing staff were so incredible.
"Once he had improved enough they asked whether we would like to speak to him.
"She said for us to give her a minute and then she got out her own personal phone, put it in a bag to make sure it wasn't contaminated, and let me speak to my dad for the first time face to face since he'd gone in.
"That was obviously an emotional moment - I can't thank them enough."
Mr Van De Graaf continued to recover over the coming days and was discharged earlier this month.
Staff applauded him as he left the hospital.
Jayne said the applause was not just for her father but to celebrate the hard work the staff are doing in the hospital.
She said: "It is a celebration of their dedication and to acknowledge the work they do.
"They gave my dad back to me and I will always be grateful."
Mr Van De Graaf, who moved to Litherland from the Netherlands in the 1970s, is now recovering at home with the assistance of medical staff under the hospital's "Aintree at Home" scheme.
