A 22-year-old who held patients' hands so they were not alone when they died is among frontline workers who have gone above and beyond during the pandemic.

The coronavirus crisis has seen NHS heroes across Kent step outside their usual remits and go the extra mile, in a bid to help others.

Among them is Eilidh Kessack, an apprentice healthcare assistant at Whitstable and Tankerton Hospital, which provides rehabilitation and end-of-life care.

With hospital visitors limited during the pandemic, Eilidh sat with patients and held their hands to make sure they did not die alone.

She also relayed phone messages from family members, holding a phone to one man's ear so his loved ones could say a final farewell before he died.

“I just did what was needed," she said, modestly. "I've been working a lot of hours, we’ve never been busier and it is emotionally stressful.

"We have patients who do sadly die. I hold their hands so they’re not on their own.

“One man visited his wife of 50 years and said he didn’t care if he caught Covid-19. He said if she didn’t survive, he didn’t want to either. That was hard to hear.

“I care for these patients a lot, so it’s very sad. But I have just had to get on with it and show them we are there to care and support.

"It’s not just me who’s been doing this. Everyone on the ward is great, and we work like one big family.”

Also going above and beyond to help others is Karen Flory, who works as a community nurse and primary care network lead in Tunbridge Wells.

Karen moved into a hotel away from her family for two months during the pandemic, to minimise the risk of passing the virus to her husband, who is in a vulnerable group and has been shielding.

"It's hot with PPE on, which slows us down..."

Living in the hotel, near Pembury, was not easy.

Not only did she miss seeing her family, but there were also limited kitchen and cooking facilities, meaning many microwave meals - a far cry from life at her home, on a farm in east Sussex.

"It’s been hard," said Karen. "We’ve all had meltdowns at some point, worried about our patients who we might have looked after for years, or worried about ourselves or our families. But we’re all there for each other.

“Our patients, who are housebound, were worried that no-one would go out to them, so we’ve had to reassure them.

"Our visits are now taking longer because of the personal protective equipment (PPE) we have to wear. Putting it on and taking it off takes time. Also, it’s hot with the PPE on, which also slows us down, but we need to make sure our patients and us, as healthcare professionals, are safe.”

The pandemic has seen Jade Lawrence, a trainee assistant practitioner at Westview Hospital in Tenterden, switch from her usual job of providing rehabilitation support, to caring for Covid-19 patients and those receiving palliative care.

She said the change has been "hard for nurses who are not used to dealing with this".

“The biggest difference is having to wear the PPE," she explained. "You get so hot, you just don’t know what to do with yourself. I now appreciate how hard it must be for those who work in intensive care units and on respiratory wards.”

Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust provides a wide-range of NHS care and support for people living in the community - including in people’s own homes, nursing homes, health clinics, community hospitals, minor injury units and in mobile units.

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