Staff at Livewell Southwest’s Edgcumbe Unit have been helping the people they care for make ‘thinking of you’ cards to send to their family, friends and carers to keep in touch during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Edgcumbe offers a homely, safe and secure environment for people at the most vulnerable stages of dementia or cognitive impairment and is based on the Mount Gould Hospital site in Plymouth.
Occupational Therapist Louise Meyrick and Claire Taylor, a Speech a Language Therapy Assistant have been making the cards for patients.
Claire has been redeployed to Edgcumbe to support during COVID-19.
Each card contains a beautiful poem and crocheted heart keepsake to hold on to.
The poem on the card reads:
I thought of you today.
But that is nothing new.
I thought about you yesterday and days before that too.
I think of you in silence.
I sometimes speak your name.
I have our lovely memories, our pictures in a frame.
Your memory is my keepsake
With which we will never part
But until we can be together again
I am sending you this heart.
Louise said: “Our patients have been keeping in touch with family via phone calls and video calls but we thought sending their families something in the post to let them know that our patients are thinking of them would brighten their day. Some of our patients wanted to send their love and we thought this would be a nice way to do it.
“Staff members who have been redeployed to Edgcumbe are helping the occupational therapy team to run card making and craft activities on the ward with patients – we love having our new colleagues with us and the patients are really enjoying making their cards.”
Tracy Browne, Edgcumbe Ward Manager, added: “This gives the families and carers a gift that they didn’t realise they needed.”
Louise Meyrick pictured before the coronavirus outbreak
