Posted on 14th Apr
A new dedicated patient liaison service is being launched at Sherwood Forest Hospitals Trust to help families keep in touch with their loved ones whilst they are in hospital.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many inpatients across the trust – King’s Mill, Mansfield Community and Newark hospitals – are not able to have visitors while visiting across all NHS hospitals in England has been suspended.
The new service will allow families to phone a dedicated helpline – 01623 676069 daily from 8am-8pm – which will allow them to get updates on their loved ones as long as they are their next of kin.
The helpline will be coupled with an email address – sfh-tr.pet@nhs.net – which families can send photos, pictures and videos to, to keep their loved one smiling throughout their stay in hospital.
Chief Nurse Julie Hogg said: “We know it can be an isolating time being in hospital, especially at the moment, whilst patients are not able to have visitors, so we thought it would be good to set this service up so that families can get regular updates about their loved ones, but also so they can send their well wishes and messages to the patients as well.
“It is also a very busy time for our staff, who are not always able to answer the ward phones immediately, so we are hoping that this service will also take the pressure off the wards and allow for families to get updates on their family member as quickly as possible.
“We hope that it will help both our patients and their families during what is a stressful and worrying time for everyone.”
