Wednesday marks five years since the UK recorded its first death of a Covid-19 patient, at the Royal Berkshire Hospital. The Prince of Wales visited the hospital today to see the impact of the funds raised by NHS Charities Together’s Urgent Covid-19 Appeal, particularly with regard to staff mental health. Report by Jonesia. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
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00:00March 2020 is not a time many people wish to cast their minds back to.
00:07It was five years ago today, at the Royal Berkshire Hospital, that the UK recorded its
00:12first death of a Covid-19 patient, an announcement that at the time was inevitable, but nonetheless
00:19shocking.
00:20Cases had begun passing from person to person, with no established link to overseas travel.
00:26Measures such as school closures, working from home and reducing large-scale events
00:31were now being considered.
00:32MPs were warned that the National Health Service might not have the capacity to cope.
00:37We will get 50% of all the cases over a three-week period and 95% of the cases over a nine-week
00:44period, if it follows the trajectory we think it's likely to.
00:48But it would take another 18 days for the government to announce a full national lockdown.
00:54And this evening I must give the British people a very simple instruction.
00:58You must stay at home.
01:00NHS Charities Together launched an urgent Covid-19 appeal, and within five days had
01:07raised £5m, eventually rising to £160m through the public's spirit and generosity.
01:15The health service was under unprecedented pressure.
01:19By the second week of April, the UK was recording more than 4,000 cases and over 1,000 deaths
01:25a day.
01:27Prince William and Catherine, who were patrons of NHS Charities Together, visited the Royal
01:32Berkshire Hospital in December 2020.
01:38Today the Prince of Wales was back, this time welcomed inside and without the need for a mask.
01:46They'd come to see the impact of the charity's funds on the hospital trust, particularly
01:50with regard to staff mental health.
01:53What happened through an incredibly difficult time, an unprecedented time for the NHS, that
01:58must get harder and harder the further you get from Covid, and so spaces like this are
02:01so important to catch those people who feel they really do want to talk about it a bit
02:06more, you need to dedicate that time to come over here and do something.
02:09This health and wellbeing garden opened for the hospital staff in 2022.
02:14Having a dedicated centre that the staff are able to use to relax, to do exercise and to
02:22have spaces their own that they can take out from their usual day is really important,
02:26as well as focusing on the health of as well in terms of the gym facilities as well.
02:29The pandemic itself really did shine a light on the importance, particularly of supporting
02:33the mental health of staff, and one of our key lessons was learning that we needed a
02:38space that staff could come away from their clinical areas to decompress, to unwind, to
02:43relax as much as possible on their breaks.
02:46Two of the hospital staff, Dr Peter Tunn and Julie Edward, also lost their lives to
02:51the coronavirus. William paused to reflect by the trees planted in their memory.
02:59This Sunday has been designated as a national Covid-19 day of reflection. Just five years on,
03:06the emotion will still be raw for many, but today's royal visit shows the fruits of the
03:11nation's collective effort and the positive impact on the wellbeing of those who looked after us.