Practice staff thank their local community after being ‘showered with kindness’
NHS heroes have thanked their local community after being ‘showered with kindness’ during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Staff at East Durham Medical Group (EDMG), Wingate, have been overwhelmed with cards, messages and gifts from patients, voluntary groups, schools and local businesses.
Practice GP Dr Dagny Samuel said: “It is four weeks now since the start of the pandemic working situation which has meant a massive change in how we deliver the best possible quality of care to our patients.
“We have been truly overwhelmed by the kindness of so many of our patients on a daily basis.
“A simple “thank you”, “you’re all doing a great job” and “you all stay safe” goes a long way in our ever changing day – our community has really ‘showered us with kindness’ during this difficult time.”
Gifts donated to the surgery include safety visors from Sedgefield Community College, Easter chocolates from Mercedes Benz and a hamper from Health Services Discount alongside kind words of encouragement from Peterlee Patient Group.
“These four weeks have seen many anxieties for our staff,” added Dr Samuel.
“The extreme sadness of untimely and unexpected death notifications of our patients, the constant battle to keep ahead of the demands of the ever changing COVID -19 situation, the long hours and weekend shifts and having our staff train to work in other areas, where the need would be most, should the current situation worsen.
“We really would like to thank all our patients for their co-operation and understanding of the demands of the situation and for working with us to enable our practice to continue to provide the best care possible.”
Joseph Chandy, senior partner EDMG and director of primary care, NHS County Durham Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) added: “It is heart-warming to know that our staff have so much support especially during such challenging times for general practice.
“The kindness and compassion shown by patients and the local community has been incredible and is very much appreciated but we still need everyone to continue to help us by following government guidelines to stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives.”