Union "overwhelmed" by walkie talkie donations for KGH

"Unbelievable" response to Facebook appeal
Nicola Dean, branch organiser of Unison'sNorthamptonshire Health Workers branch, appealedfor support from the publicNicola Dean, branch organiser of Unison'sNorthamptonshire Health Workers branch, appealedfor support from the public
Nicola Dean, branch organiser of Unison'sNorthamptonshire Health Workers branch, appealedfor support from the public

A union member says she has been inundated with donations of walkie talkies after an appeal to help staff at KGH.

Nicola Dean, branch organiser of Unison's Northamptonshire Health Workers branch, appealed for support from the public on social media and asked them to donate walkie talkies and baby monitors they no longer needed.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Nurses were working in and out of isolated bays every time they left a bay to get something they had to remove their protective clothing (PPE) and dispose of it, before putting on a new set once they had collected what they needed, "wasting" valuable PPE.

But through the monitors and walkie talkies they can now communicate through different areas without having to take off their PPE.

Nicola said: "I was inundated, it was unbelievable.

"I organised to pick them up and went travelling around the county.

"It was such a positive response and I think a lot of people realised that they could still do something from home."

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Nicola made about 20 visits in a single day with some generous people donating up to five walkie talkies.

Many others took theirs straight to the hospital and Nicola said she is still getting offers of help now.

She added: "We were completely overwhelmed by the response.

"It was the perfect example of community spirit."

It's the latest success for the Unison branch, which recently led the campaign to drop parking charges for hospital staff through #stoptheparkingcharge.

From today (Wednesday) staff at KGH will no longer have to pay to park.