NHS staff and keyworkers have come together to pay a moving tribute to their communities for their support during the pandemic.

The powerful video, narrated by former Wales rugby player Robin McBryde, captures a number of different NHS staff and key workers in Gwynedd and Anglesey, who worked tirelessly throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Appearing in the video is Eira Evans, a Health Care Assistant at Ysbyty Gwynedd, who tragically lost her mother to COVID-19.

She said: “We lost my Mam, Iris Williams, on 28 April. I last saw her 40 days before she passed away. I still can’t believe she’s gone.

“I’m still grieving, with a huge amount of guilt because I couldn’t be with her when she needed her family the most. I feel I’ve let her down.

“Mam’s funeral was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to experience. Only six people were allowed. She doted on her whole family, and they weren’t allowed to come and say goodbye.

“I’m glad this video has been done. We’ve worked so hard as a community to follow the rules so that tragic losses such as ours have been kept to a minimum. I just hope people will continue to support the NHS whatever happens, and that we beat this virus.”

Volunteer, Andrew Cavender, who also appears in the video, raised over £7,000 to help purchase essential PPE for frontline staff during the height of the pandemic.

He said: “I feel really proud to be part of this video – I would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who helped me along the way, and to everyone who has supported me and donated money for essential supplies.

“I would like to say a special thanks to all the sewing bees who have worked so hard to make all the masks, scrubs, caps and bags. It’s been amazing to be part of their team – and it’s unbelievable to have had over 80 of them on board.

“They have made a huge difference and I feel they are the unsung heroes.”
The idea for the video came from two NHS staff, GP Eilir Hughes and Advanced Nurse Practitioner Rhys Jones.

Dr Hughes, who works at Tŷ Doctor in Nefyn on the Llŷn Peninsula, said the idea behind the video was to thank the public for keeping their communities safe.

He said: “As a cluster lead for the area, I was involved in planning and delivering the community health service’ response to the pandemic.

“What became evident was that we were working flat out, but so were other key workers. Society didn’t come to a complete standstill. We couldn’t have functioned without them. But also the public did their bit here too. The NHS was protected, and they did that.”

Advanced Nurse Practitioner, Rhys Jones, who leads the Acute Intervention Team at Ysbyty Gwynedd, and was involved with training staff during COVID-19, added: “The video aims to show how much we as staff appreciated the hard work undertaken by key workers during the lockdown and to thank the public for listening to the advice by staying home. This has made all the difference to us as a health service.

“People have been really supportive, but we wanted to show them our appreciation. Diolch!”

Photos:
(IMG1): Eira Evans (left) with her mum Iris Williams who sadly passed away due to COVID-19 and Eira’s husband Gary.
(IMG2): Eira who works as a Health Care Assistant at Ysbyty Gwynedd took part in the emotional video to say thank you to the public for their support during the pandemic.
(IMG3): The idea for the video came from (left) Dr Eilir Hughes, a GP in Nefyn and Advanced Nurse Practitioner Rhys Jones from Ysbyty Gwynedd.
(IMG4): Volunteer, Andrew Cavender, from the Llyn Peninsula,raised over £7,000 to help purchase essential PPE for frontline staff during the height of the pandemic