Staff go extra mile to help homeless patient

14 November 2018

Staff at the Princess Royal Hospital went the extra mile to help a patient who had recently become homeless.

The patient was brought onto the Acute Medical Unit (AMU) – a specialist unit for medical emergencies – last week.

Through speaking to the patient, staff discovered that the clothes he was wearing were the only ones he possessed, and decided to help out.

After the patient had been washed and admitted, staff had a collection before Health Care Assistant (HCA) Stuart Ansell volunteered to use his break to pick up some new clothes from Primark and take the patient’s old clothes home with him to wash and dry.

Stuart said: “When the gentlemen went for a shower and was admitted onto the unit we all decided we would have a bit of a whip round.

“I was going on a break, so I said I would take his washing home with me and do it and then I popped to my nearby laundrette to get it dried. I went to Primark and picked up some jogging bottoms, a T-shirt, a few toiletries, that sort of thing.

“He seemed quite surprised that we had gone that extra step and he was very appreciative that we had taken the time and effort. I think he was a bit stunned that we had gone that little bit further.”

Jenny Lawson, Sister on AMU, added: “When the patient came onto the unit, he only had the clothes he was wearing, and no socks. The staff on shift rounded up some loose change and Stuart went to Primark on his break and bought the patient a new outfit and some wash things. He also washed and dried the patient’s clothes that he was wearing.

“By the end of the day, the patient had had a hot meal, a hot shower, and two clean outfits. He was very humbled and appreciative of the care and kindness shown towards him.”