Salisbury Hospital staff are helping people to stay connected by delivering hundreds of personal messages to patients from loved ones. More than 1500 cards have been delivered to patients from friends and relatives living in countries from around the world.

The hospital recently partially lifted visitor restrictions as a result of falling covid cases, but some restrictions remain but under constant review. The latest visitor information is available at https://www.salisbury.nhs.uk/coronavirus/visitor-restrictions/

Katrina Glaister, Head of Patient Experience, said: “With some visitor restrictions still in place we understand how difficult it is to have a loved one in hospital who is unwell. Being able to deliver a card to a patient with a special, personal message from a friend or relative is a little thing we can do to help people stay connected and bring a smile to a patient’s face. It’s been a real privilege to be able to do this”.

David Stratton, Chairman of the League of Friends, said: “We are pleased to be able to use the generous donations we receive from the community to help fund this initiative and help enable loved ones to keep in touch”.

To send a message to a loved one, families and friends can email sft.messagetoalovedone@nhs.net.

From 8.30am to 4.30pm Mondays to Fridays, messages can also be phoned to the hospital’s PALS team on 01722 429044.

Every day at 2pm, messages received are printed and are delivered to the wards in the afternoon.