TRUST IN 'GRATEFUL THANKS' TO STAFF, VOLUNTEERS AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES FOR THEIR EXTRAORDINARY EFFORTS AND SUPPORT

SHORT VIDEO PAYS TRIBUTE TO 'OVERWHELMING' DONATIONS OF GOODS AND SERVICES IN PANDEMIC

NHS heroes who put their lives on the line at the height of the Covid-19 storm have praised Atherstone and beyond for their "never-to-be forgotten" support in turning the ordinary into the extraordinary through the pandemic.

The George Eliot Hospital has placed on record in a short video its "heartfelt" thanks to an heroic list of bakers, caterers, shop workers and truck drivers for their unstinting efforts as the crisis peaked on its wards.

The YouTube film – with a voiceover in verse by the young daughter of one of the hospital staff – takes the viewers through the trials and tribulations impacted by a deadly "silent enemy" and the response from staff and volunteers at the hospital and the community at large.

Clips from the three-minute video feature Long Street businessman Mejar Singh at his W.C. Masters bakery; a van from Grendon's W H Gayton & Sons delivering to the hospital; and Atherstone town and borough councillor Dawn Downes at work as an operating department practitioner at the Eliot.

And there's a mention for Old Arley's D & R Meats which provided a star visitor in Coronation Street's former butcher Ashley Peacock (actor Steven Arnold) on one of the runs exclusively serving staff at the hospital on a Thursday.

The film, which was the idea of staff within the hospital, reviews the colleagues who worked tirelessly through coronavirus, the unsung contribution of volunteers plus the "very generous" and "overwhelming" donations of goods and services provided by the public of Atherstone and North Warwickshire.

Trust associate director of human resources Gertie Nic Philib said "We are delighted to share our video.

"We hope that it reaches everyone who has helped us during the pandemic.

"We are grateful to each and every single person for all of your help and support and the difference this has made to us."

The mini-movie begins with the Nuneaton hospital's 2020 vision which has been rudely interrupted by the virus's incursion.

The young narrator says: "We had hope, we had drive. We knew we could do wonders and nothing could stop until a dark shadow was cast from afar.

"A silent enemy without compassion, it showed no remorse. It was unforgiving and relentless.

"Our lives were changed in an instant. Our hopes and plans put on hold and we didn't know for how long."

The video narrative shifts to how the local public responded to social distancing and "flattening the curve" of the virus spread and how the NHS at The Eliot "couldn't have coped without your support"

And the film goes to praise the efforts of workers and businesses which gave daily help and provisions to the hospital and its staff.

The film adds: "Our heroes of the day are not the ones you expect, it's the community around us that deserves our respect.

"This message is not to thank the NHS but to thank you the catereers, the bakers, the truck drivers and the shops. "The support you gave will never be forgotten." The video – which is at the top of this article – signs off with the little girl (Eliza) praising the public for the "caring you have shown" and "from the bottom of my heart I thank you for looking after my mumand all her friends at the George Eliot Hospital." The Eliot has found itself at the coalface of the virus spread with at one point 25 hospital beds being taken out of commission to be deep cleaned when staff found themselves coping with a second spike of cases as the area regularly featured as a Covid hotspot in terms of Midlands infection rates.