Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Chronicle Live
Chronicle Live
National
Hannah Graham

Thoughtful nurse collects huge amount of toiletries to cheer Covid-19 patients unable to see family

She already spends hours each week caring tirelessly for her patients.

But this caring nurse has gone and step further, and has used her days off to do even more for coronavirus patients who can't see their families.

Trainee nursing associate Ameily Harris realised her patients at Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital (NSECH), in Cramlington, were stuck in hospital without simply luxuries like toiletries and toothpaste.

With restrictions on visitors needed to prevent further spread of the virus, patients unexpectedly sent to hospital were unable to get any of the things friends and family would normally bring in.

Ameily sent out a plea on Facebook and was soon flooded with donations of toiletries and confectionery.

She said: "It's absolutely amazing the amount of stuff we've been given. I thought I'd get enough for my ward but we've sent them to every ward in NSECH, and to North Tyneside Hosptial as well.

"With working on a Covid-19 ward, people aren't allowed visitors, they come in with nothing with them and no one is there to bring stuff in. At the hospital we just have basic stuff for toiletries and I just thought it would be good for them to have something a bit nicer.

"It's just something nice to do for people: it's obviously not a very nice time for people working in hospitals but the support people have given has really helped."

Chronicle Live learnt about Ameily's fantastic project thanks to her sister Sabrian Harris, who contacted us to say she is "so proud" of her thoughtful sister.

She said: "She is due to be married in Cyprus this July and that doesn’t look likely and we’ve already had to postpone her hen party to next year! As you can imagine she has been in pieces, but instead of wallowing she’s got up and went to work every hour possible.

"Last week she came home upset saying families understandably are being asked not to visit patients with what’s going on, she said this is leaving them without basic essentials, or some simply don’t have anyone, so she asked her Facebook friends and family to see if they had any spare toiletries that she could take into her ward.

"The response she received was overwhelming. Within 24 hours her living room looked like the toiletries aisle in Boots!! The donations are still flooding in now.

"She now has that much that she’s sorting them into boxes to distribute to other wards and even some to Rake Lane, this is all on her days off. Personally, I think she deserves a medal!!"

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.