Since launching in May 2020, Kingston Hospital’s ‘Message to a loved one’ service has delivered over a thousand messages to patients in hospital.
The service enables relatives and close friends to send messages of love and support to patients at a time when visits to inpatient wards have been limited to help keep patients, visitors and staff safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
One user of the service said: “This messaging system is a great idea, so thank you so much for going the extra mile to help us get in touch with each other safely.”
Another said: “Thank you once again for your amazing service – it’s really helping me while I can’t be with my husband and missing him so very much.”
Laura Shalev Greene, Head of Volunteering at Kingston Hospital, has been leading the ‘Message to a loved one’ service. Laura said: “This service has provided a way for people to keep in touch at a time when visiting has been restricted and people have needed a way of reaching out to their loved ones to say that they are thinking of them. It has been a great privilege to offer the ‘Message to a loved one’ service at Kingston Hospital.”
Relatives and close friends can send an email to khft.messagetoalovedone@nhs.net before 12pm for their message to be delivered direct to their loved one at Kingston Hospital on the same day. Messages received after 12pm will be delivered the following day.
For messages to be passed on to a patient, the following information needs to be included with the message:
- The patient’s full name
- Relationship to the patient
- Either the patient’s date of birth or the first line of their address
