NHS nurses 'blown away' after Howies Restaurant in Edinburgh refunded their deposit for cancelled Christmas dinner

A group of nurses who cancelled their Christmas dinner were amazed, after the Edinburgh restaurant they’d booked into returned their deposit to them.

Nurses who worked for the Pregnancy Support Unit in Edinburgh decided to cancel their much-anticipated Christmas dinner, after Public Health Scotland advised that parties be postponed due to rising Covid cases.

They had assumed they would lose the £120 pound deposit they had paid in advance to Howies Restaurant, but were shocked when the restaurant fully refunded them the money when they called up to cancel.

The restaurant, which has three locations in Edinburgh, also refused to accept the £50 tip that the nurses had offered to donate, and instead requested that they visit another time.

The staff at Edinburgh restaurant Howies returned a deposit to a group of NHS nurses, who decided to cancel their Christmas dinner due to public health advice.

Lisa Starrs, the Centre Manager for the Pregnancy Support Unit, said that the restaurant had “gone above and beyond”.

She said: “We paid a deposit for the very reason that things might change, so they had absolutely no obligation to do that”.

According to Lisa, her team have been “absolutely astonished” by the kind gesture from Howies. She said: “It makes them feel valued for what they’re doing, and what they’re doing is so hard”.

Lisa's team care for women in early pregnancy who are having miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies – which she says is “sad and difficult work”.

The group of nurses felt guilty for cancelling, but Lisa stressed that they had made the decision for the good of their patients.

"If one of us was infected, there would be no care for women with early pregnancy problems in Edinburgh for the next week or two. We can’t do that to our patients”, she said.

"This is a really difficult time of year for women who are losing a baby. We just couldn’t take the risk of us not being there for them over the next few weeks”.

Lisa’s team are disappointed that they won’t get their Christmas night out this year. She said:“ We want nothing more than a few glasses of prosecco, and a laugh with a lovely meal. We desperately need our social time together - it’s one of the ways we survive”.

However, they plan to reschedule their dinner, and Lisa said: “There’s no question, we will return to Howies”.

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