Celebrating Carers
Paintings in Hospitals Director Sandra Bruce-Gordon reflects on the role people and art play in care from her personal experience
By Paintings in Hospitals
Sandra Bruce-Gordon
PPE Workers (2020) by Darren ButcherPaintings in Hospitals
In the current climate of anxiety and isolation caused by the coronavirus pandemic, no group of people are more deserving of our gratitude and celebration than the tireless, dedicated, and selfless carers on the front line.
Mrs ‘Betty’ Gray and carer heroes, Shortwood House, Nottingham. (2020) by Ken MurrayPaintings in Hospitals
I want to share with you the heroism, compassion, and love that I witnessed from carers who found themselves on the frontline of the battle against the virus.
PPE Workers (2020) by Darren ButcherPaintings in Hospitals
The headline on the front page of the local paper read: ‘FOUR KILLED BY VIRUS AT CARE HOME’. The emotive language used to sell papers coming at a time when real support and praise was needed for care homes and their frontline staff dealing with a national emergency. The care home referred to in the article happened to be the home where my mother had lived for two years.
Mrs ‘Betty’ Gray and carer heroes, Shortwood House, Nottingham. (2020) by Ken MurrayPaintings in Hospitals
After reading the headline, I spoke to the nursing staff who admitted that when they had seen the article that “our chins are on the floor”. How could this happen to carers who were risking their own and their family’s health every day by just turning up to work? What I was yet to witness was that theirs was not just a job but a calling.
Beverley June Ishmael (2020) by Louise GillardPaintings in Hospitals
As my mother’s health deteriorated, I wished that her last days be spent at her care home; to which the home readily agreed. She returned to a hero’s welcome. I was, unlike so many, privileged to have been allowed to be with my mother at this time. I do not have the words to really describe the warmth and tenderness I witnessed.
As I sat with her, I lost count of the times one of the carers would knock on the door just to say, “Hello Alice, we’re so glad to have you back”. Most had a story to tell about Alice and shared with me tales of her dry sense of humour and how she made them laugh.
Dr Chika Igwe (2020) by Kathryn BellPaintings in Hospitals
They not only looked after Alice, they also looked after me. I cannot remember when I last had three square meals a day. I had mixed emotions ordering from the menu and having carers attend to my needs at this time when they had so much more to do. It readily became apparent that we were all just one big family and everyone looked after each other.
Duncan Rourke (2020) by Sian Wroe-JonesPaintings in Hospitals
They found me a room and a blow-up bed in case I did not want to leave my mother. When I did go for a sleep, they sat with Alice and held her hand. They brought me toast and coffee in the middle of the night; made sure I had everything I needed.
Nurses Vitor & Claudia Gomes: We Live for Each Other (2020) by Helen StonePaintings in Hospitals
This project is a fitting celebration to just some of the people on the front line of fighting Covid-19. It will ensure that they are never forgotten just as I will never forget their kindness and how privileged I was to have witnessed the bravery, laughter, and tears of care home staff in extraordinary times. They are all truly heroes.
