Nurses beat the cold weather - by riding to work on work on toboggans

Chief executive Richard Sunley said: “This is an incredible achievement, given the weather yesterday. All our staff managed to get in to work to cover all three shifts – some of them travel more than 20 miles from south of Bridlington, Whitby, Pickering and Ryedale on ungritted roads. Some walked or took public transport, but they managed to get to work.

“I want to say a huge thank you to all the staff who helped us continue to provide treatment and care to our patients. We have an amazing, dedicated team of staff within our hospitals. Many of them have worked here for a number of years which creates a very special environment.”

Some of the trust even staff rode toboggans into work when the usual form of transport were ruled out by the weather.

Elsewhere, at the North Manchester General Hospital, a mental health nurse made a seven hour round trip through the snow to ensure a patient received a vital injection.

Tony Ellis through blizzard conditions to administer the anti-psychotic Depot to a vulnerable patient.

Mr Ellis said “If the injection hadn’t been administered the patient would have had real problems because they are particularly vulnerable and can relapse very quickly.

“It was a really hard journey the roads were extremely dangerous and it was like a blizzard. There were abandoned cars everywhere.”

In Cumbria one carer who could not get to work by car walked for two and a half hours through the snow to get to work and assist with discharging older people from hospital so they could return to their own homes. Another, care worker Paula Banks (pictured), fought her way by foot up a hillside near Ambleside assisted by members of Kendal Mountain Rescue so she could deliver three weeks worth of food and medication to four elderly people on a remote farm.

In Doncaster staff from Bassetlaw Hospital and Doncaster Royal Infirmary battled through snow and ice to make it to work. Both hospitals offered on-site accommodation for staff that don’t live locally and needed somewhere to stay overnight. A number of dedicated staff stayed overnight when the weather was at its worst, to ensure they would be able to turn up for their next shift.

Nigel Clifton, chief executive at the trust, thanked all staff who made such a tremendous effort. He said: “Many staff volunteered to extend their working day, or take on additional shifts at short notice – so a special thank you to them for helping maintain essential patient services.”

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