Prince Charles thanks Caithness General Hospital staff for their dedication during pandemic
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
There was royal recognition for the work of frontline NHS staff when Prince Charles paid a visit to Caithness General Hospital.
The prince, who is known as the Duke of Rothesay when in Scotland, met staff at the hospital in Wick on Friday afternoon to thank them for their dedication and hard work during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Deputy Lieutenant Dr Alison Brooks explained that John Thurso, Lord-Lieutenant of Caithness, had asked her to give a report of how the people of the area had pulled together during the pandemic which he could pass on to Prince Charles, who had been keen to get regular updates of how the county was coping.
"He was so taken with what was happening that he wanted to come up and thank all involved," she said.
Due to the current regulations, the Thurso and Halkirk Medical Practice GP pointed out that they had been very restricted in the number of people they could invite. "We tried to represent as many as we could," she said.
Among those present were local district nurses, Care at Home workers, staff from the Covid-19 assessment centre, members of the Caithness Mental Health Support Group and the Scottish Ambulance Service, as well as staff from the hospital.
"He wanted to show his appreciation for what has been done," Dr Brooks said. "They have all done a fantastic job."
She added: "We were not allowed to tell people they were meeting Prince Charles. Most did not twig – they were absolutely delighted. He spent several minutes speaking to each individual and passing on his thanks to the wider organisation to them.
"It was a lot of organisation for a very small event, but it was well worth it. It is just lovely to say thank-you to people and say they are being thought about.
"That was the first event of that type in Scotland – another feather in our cap up here."
During the visit a lady having chemotherapy treatment in the hospital was delighted to receive a wave from Prince Charles. She was noticed waving from a window and Dr Brooks asked Prince Charles if he would mind giving a wave back, to which he said: "Absolutely no problem."
The health board chairman, Professor Boyd Robertson, said: “We were delighted to welcome His Royal Highness the Duke of Rothesay to Caithness General Hospital.
“His Royal Highness spent time chatting with our staff to thank them for their efforts over the last few months and heard their experiences of working across a variety of health and social care roles during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“All of the staff that met him were delighted and it has given the entire team a morale boost after such a demanding and challenging period. I would like to thank His Royal Highness most sincerely for his visit to Caithness General Hospital.”
Prince Charles, who is 71, contracted coronavirus in the early stages of the UK's epidemic and later he reportedly said he was lucky to have experienced only mild symptoms.
He is a regular visitor to the county at this time of year.
