Covid Scotland: Western General Staff facing 'incredibly tough time' given insole donation

Staff at Edinburgh’s Western General Hospital who continue to face an “incredibly tough time” have been given a donation of 500 insoles by a healthcare company.

The insoles were donated by Enertor to the Regional Infectious Diseases Unit (RIDU), which treated the first patient who tested positive for Covid-19 in Scotland, in March last year.

The director of the Western General, where the RIDU is based, said the donation would lift staff morale amid high demand for services and continued staffing shortages.

It comes after St Michael's hospital in Linlithgow was closed over nursing staff shortages, with patients moved elsewhere.

"There are a lot of tired feet walking around our hospital day in day out," said Chris Stirling, Western General Hospital Director.

Staffing shortages have been felt across the region, NHS Lothian said, amid high demand, staff on annual leave, and continued self-isolation after contact with positive Covid cases.

Chris Stirling, Western General director, said: “The Western General Hospital looked after Scotland’s first inpatient at the start of the pandemic and every day since all of our staff from nurses and doctors on the frontline to porters and administrative staff have all been working tirelessly to support our patients’ health and wellbeing and their fellow colleagues.

“We cannot thank Enertor enough for their support and kind donation of 500 insoles.

500 pairs of insoles were donated.

"There are a lot of tired feet walking around our hospital day in, day out, with many ward nurses logging over 20,000 steps plus per shift.

“So we know the huge difference these will make, not only to their feet, but team morale too, at what’s continuing to be an incredibly tough time.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.