Inverclyde Now Logo ACTOR Emma Thompson Pays Tribute To IRH Staff As She Donates PPE

21 May, 2020 | Local

RENOWNED actor Emma Thompson has donated protective clothing to Inverclyde Royal Hospital and paid tribute to its hard-working staff.

Thompson, who splits her time between London and the West of Scotland and is currently staying with her family in Dunoon, was moved to respond after seeing that Inverclyde had been one of the areas hit worst by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Through her donation, the charity Mail Force has donated 5,000 aprons — vital personal protective equipment (PPE) — to the hospital.

Inverclyde Royal was the first hospital in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to have a positive case of Covid-19, in mid-March, and the area has suffered the highest death rate in Scotland.

The actor said: “Newspapers can often make you feel quite helpless but the Daily Mail’s Mail Force charity is practical and useful and genuinely required.

“When they asked if I’d like my donation to go towards a particular place, I immediately thought of Inverclyde. They have been amazing to cope and pull together against the odds in all of this.

“The NHS expresses the best of us: a sense of social morality, mutual responsibility and care towards one another that as we see in this crisis, is the most important part of all our institutions, there is nothing else.

“The only thing that stands between us and calamity in this crisis is the NHS. We’ve seen how valuable it is. So it’s important to not just clap but to also make sure we value it in a real and functional way – with more resources, funding and staff.”

Dr Abby Gunn, lead clinician at Inverclyde Royal Hospital, has been instrumental in the response locally.

She said: “We’re a small but dedicated team in Inverclyde. The community is amazing here and patients and staff alike have banded together in these tough circumstances. We’re grateful to Emma for her kind donation and warm wishes.”

Emma Thompson also sent a video message which can be viewed on the health board’s Youtube channel.

Jane Grant, chief executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: “Our sincere thanks to Emma and Mail Force for their generosity and thoughts of Inverclyde. We are so proud of our team at Inverclyde Royal Hospital and indeed all of our staff who have gone above and beyond to care for our patients in these tough times. These aprons will go towards building our reserve stocks of PPE.”

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