Critically ill coronavirus patients in the ICU are using donated tablets, such as iPads, to send messages to loved ones.

Critical NHS contacted Wandsworth Council following a plea from the nurses at St Georges Hospital ICU team. The nurses were in desperate need of at least 10 tablets that would allow patients in the ICU to be able to communicate with their loved ones, many for the last time.

Wandsworth council contacted many tech companies to try and source tablets for the hospital. ‘101 Ways’, who are a technology consultancy, responded to the call out saying they would provide all ten. ‘101 Ways’ also organised the delivery of the tablets which arrived at the hospital 48 hours later.

Critical NHS explained that many of the patients in the ICU are elderly people, an age group that has been affected by the coronavirus the most, and don’t have the technology available to them. While St George’s hospital are grateful for the ten tablets, they and other hospitals around the country will need an increasing number of tablets in the coming weeks as coronavirus cases continue to grow.

Councillor Hampton, who leads on community health said, “It is a very tragic day when family members can’t physically be with their loved ones when they need them the most. While video calling and text messaging can never replace having your family at your side, we are grateful there are other options available in these unprecedented times. We also want to extend our deepest thanks to the team at ‘101 Ways’ for providing the tablets.”

We at Critical NHS are currently calling upon big businesses in the UK to find sponsors who can help them with their ‘Urgent Tablet Appeal’.

Naill Barrett from Critical NHS said “the best way people and businesses can help is by donating money so it can be properly delegated. Hospitals are in urgent need of more new tablets, however, tablets rely on WiFi and we are concerned that in coming weeks the internet will get overloaded which is why we are asking phone companies to support us by providing mobile phones for ICU patients. We do not want to get to a stage where critically ill patients are unable to contact their families.”