£500,000 anonymous benefactor helps Fife patients stay in touch

They will hep families stay in touch while restrictions on visiting patients remain in place.

The iPads were bought from the six-figure anonymous donation to Fife Health Board Endowment Fund.

The benefactor asked that the money was immediately to provide additional support for patients and healthcare staff .

Within days, the board had bought 55 iPads to bring patients closer with relatives unable to sit by their bedsides while visiting is suspended – with a few exceptions - at all hospital sites across Fife.

Helen Skinner, Alzheimer Scotland dementia nurse consultant,, was the driving force behind the hi-tech link-up.

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She said: “Initially I wanted to purchase iPads for older patients in hospital with dementia as I was concerned about the impact the restrictions on access would have on them.

“Being in a strange place, with strange noises, smells, people and routines can potentially be very distressing for people with dementia and not being able to have relatives visit can compound this.

“However, when I thought about it I wanted to do something that would help all hospital patients and alleviate some of the stress that the suspension of visiting brings in general.”

She hops the iPads will give patients a way to stay in touch while in hospital, adding: “Not only can they hear each other, but they can see each other too - and that is so important. Hopefully these iPads will provide reassurance, comfort, and a little bit of happiness for both patients and relatives or friends at what is a difficult time.”

She also praised the board’s e-health team, for moving so quickly to make her idea a reality. The iPads have to be specifically configured for use in hospitals.

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