Virtual visiting keeps Islands’ patients in touch with family

With visiting suspended across our hospitals, NHS Western Isles has re-united families via ‘virtual visiting’ and has supplied wards with iPads to enable them access to their loved ones.

One family to benefit already from virtual visiting is Louise Sullivan’s, keeping her in touch with her elderly mother who is an inpatient in Western Isles Hospital in Stornoway.

Louise lives locally, and since her mother, Ella Barbour, was admitted to the Western Isles hospital, herself and her father, Billy Barbour, had been visiting her mum on a daily basis.

However following implementation of the lock down, this has not been possible.

Louise said: “My mum has been an in-patient since February this year.

“Since my mum’s admission, either myself or my dad have visited my mum every day. Therefore, although the visiting restrictions were completely understandable they presented a personal challenge in relation to keeping connected.

“Having the opportunity to use the Virtual Visiting instead has meant the world to us as a family.

“My parents have been married for over 50 years and have hardly spent a day apart and I know my dad really appreciates the chance to see my mum most days via the virtual link.

“It’s been equally important for my mum to keep connected with her family to aide her recovery.

“For me one of the most precious moments has been seeing my mum’s face ‘light up’ when she saw her grandsons on the video. 
At this challenging time we have been very grateful of this service and all the effort from staff to make this work for us and other families.”

The Virtual Visiting facility is continuing to grow across our hospitals and care homes have also introduced a similar facility, enabling vital face to face conversations to happen between patients and the people that matter most to them in their lives, which is inevitably going to be instrumental in their recovery.

For further information or to book a visit, please telephone 01851 708205.

NHS Western Isles Nurse and AHP Director/Chief Operating Officer, William Findlay, commented: “We are very pleased with how well this service has been received and the positive difference it has made to our patients.

“This is an extremely challenging time for inpatients who are in an unfamiliar environment, at a time of considerable anxiety, and are not able to see their friends and family.

“This is why we took the decision to develop this service for our patients who do not have their own mobile phone, tablet or laptop to use, to connect with others.

“Keeping in touch with those important to us is clearly beneficial in terms of patient wellbeing.”