Nurse is applauded by street as she arrives home from busy shift
KEY WORKER PRESENTED WITH DONATIONS FROM NEIGHBOURS
AN East Riding respiratory nurse working on the coronavirus front line received a surprise hero’s reception when returning home from a busy shift at Hull Royal Infirmary.
Hannah Dodsworth missed out on taking part in the Clap for Carers as her hectic shift did not finish until 8pm, but her neighbours came together to show just how much she, and her colleagues, are appreciated.
Ms Dodsworth, who lives in Ebor Manor, Keyingham, was filmed as she drove back onto her street after a day on her ward, but had no idea why the weekly clap we have all become accustomed to had overrun by 15 minutes. But, it was no accident. The project was the brainchild of neighbour Deborah Medforth who rallied residents to donate money and gifts for Hannah and her colleagues to show how appreciated their work really is.
Hannah and her partner, Sean Mason, have only lived there for six months meaning the “amazing” community spirit took her by surprise.
“I finished work at about
8pm so I had missed the clap down my street. I got home about 8.15pm and they were still out clapping,” she said.
“They presented me with the staff baskets and stuff. It was a lovely thing to do. We didn’t know all of them before
,but it has brought us all together.
“I was tired so I was probably a bit emotional anyway. It was amazing. I didn’t think community spirit was like that anymore.”
Like all staff working to fight Covid-19, Hannah has been having to take showers after work to try to stop the spread of the virus - meaning a hamper full of toiletries went down a treat, along with copious amounts of chocolate and fruit that were handed out among staff at the hospital.
The mammoth effort by Deborah, and her fellow residents, formed during an earlier Clap for Carers which had seen many residents of the cul-de-sac share the special moment to appreciate healthcare workers generally.
But this time around, it was reserved for their own frontline hero.
“We then all decided it would be a good idea to try and give the gifts to Hannah on Thursday night as we were all outside anyway at 8pm to clap for the NHS and all the key workers,” Deborah said.
“I placed our outdoor drinks trolley at the end of our drive with a piggy bank on and neighbours began to leave money or gifts and they kept on coming, message after message on the group telling us gifts were on the trolley.
“Honestly, we had no idea how big this would get. The gifts kept coming. People would message saying they had left gifts on the trolley.
“In the end we collected hundreds of pounds worth of gifts and money - enough to fill two massive hampers with chocolate, cakes, biscuits, coffee, tea, squash and another hamper full of toiletries.
“Hannah finished her shift 8pm and was on her way home.
“Sean, her husband, was able to track her vehicle and told us where she was so we were all ready to clap, cheer, whistle and scream as she drove into Ebor.
“Her face was a picture as she drove around the corner and as she got out of the car we said to her ‘this is all for you and your colleagues to show our appreciation.’
“Hannah was elated, she couldn’t believe it. We gave her the gifts and everyone thanked her from afar – Sean then messaged our group later to say how thrilled they were and what an amazing gesture it was.”
And the community effort did not stop there.
On the back of Hannah’s appreciation of the community spirit, the local postman and bin men were the next target.
The street’s children made special signs for them to spot when they went about their rounds and sweet treats were left on top of bins. at