Duke of Gloucester gives #TeamUHDB royal seal of approval during his visit to Royal Derby Hospital
His Royal Highness Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, visited Royal Derby Hospital this afternoon (Wednesday 20 October) to thank our colleagues for their phenomenal efforts through the pandemic.
UHDB staff have showcased an incredible commitment to supporting our patients and each other throughout the pandemic, with colleagues being redeployed to different acute areas like ICU and A&E.
The Duke of Gloucester met with some of our frontline heroes as part of the royal visit and was given a tour of the RDH’s ICU and operating theatres to learn more about how they were set up during the peak of Covid-19.
Dr John Williams, Clinical Director of Anaesthetics and Theatres, said: “It was a pleasure to show His Royal Highness around and for him to see the Intensive Care Unit and Theatres, as well as to meet some of the staff. They were very grateful for the time he took and he was very interested to listen to what they had to say. Our staff have been an absolute credit to our hospitals and have worked incredibly diligently over the last 18 months or so.”
The Trust has also made huge changes to a number of different services – including to discharge processes – with His Royal Highness being given a tour of the new Discharge Assessment Unit (DAU), which has transformed the way we discharge patients during the pandemic.
Dr Kathy McLean, UHDB Chair, said: “It was an absolute honour to be able to welcome His Royal Highness, The Duke of Gloucester to Royal Derby Hospital – a decade on from its official opening by Her Majesty The Queen in 2010. Our colleagues have done some truly incredible things throughout the pandemic and we have also completely transformed the way that we operate certain services, with the changes to our discharge processes being a great example of how we’ve done this for the better.
“We’re exceptionally proud of the strides we’ve taken as a Trust over the past 18 months, so we were delighted to be able to showcase this to His Royal Highness and to introduce him to some of our UHDB heroes.”
In addition to UHDB’s Executive team, The Duke of Gloucester met staff from ICU, Theatres and our discharge teams on his visit, as well as colleagues from ISS – to talk about the invaluable role porters, housekeepers and cleaners have made during Covid-19.
As a sign of respect to everyone who has been lost during the pandemic, The Duke of Gloucester commemorated his visit by planting a ceramic daisy with ‘Thank You NHS’ etched into his leaf in the hospital’s Staff Memorial Garden.
His Royal Highness also unveiled a piece of art that has been created by UHDB’s arts charity Air Arts and is set to be turned into a beautiful wall mural that will soon be painted in RDH’s ICU Courtyard for our patients to enjoy.
Prince Richard also met with colleagues from East Midlands Ambulance Service as part of his visit, as well as children from Wren Park Primary School, in Derby, who greeted him at the hospital main entrance.
Tilly, aged 7, said: “I’m really excited to meet the Duke and to learn all about ambulances. My favourite part of the trip to the hospital was getting bandages with my school friends.”
Alex Buckley, Head Teacher at Wren Park, added: “The children have been looking forward to meeting the Duke of Gloucester, although I think they were even more excited to meet East Midlands Ambulance Service! They loved having a tour of the ambulance and learning about what the service does.”
Mrs Elizabeth Fothergill CBE, HM Lord-Lieutenant of Derbyshire, also attended the visit. She said: “It’s always a pleasure to welcome a member of the Royal Family to Derbyshire and I’m certain that His Royal Highness will appreciate meeting some of those involved with ensuring that the hospital continues to function and offer exceptional patient care during the pandemic.”
