Hardworking front line Scottish nurse overjoyed after Nicola Sturgeon sends her birthday message

Kathleen Robb turned 50 during lockdown, and was surprised by an emotional birthday message from family, friends and the First Minister.

Kathleen Robb, a senior charge nurse at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary, received a special message from First Minister Nicola Sturgeon as part of a family and friends birthday video.

After months of planning, Kathleen's birthday plans for her 50th fell through as the country went into lockdown.

As a surprise, all her friends and family made small video’s wishing her a happy birthday and edited them together for an emotional birthday treat.

Kathleen Robb and her family

The video finished with a clip from the First Minister wishing Kathleen a happy birthday and thanking her for her work as a frontline worker.

Kathleen explained: “My sister works for the YMCA, and one of the councillors knew Nicola Sturgeon.

“I think initially she was very busy and said that she would send a card, then she said that she could film it after Tuesday’s briefing.”

Ms Sturgeon’s video was added to the edit after the clips from her family and friends.

“You can imagine my response watching the video, it was very emotional”: Kathleen added.

“Everyone is so lovely in it.”

Kathleen works in the high dependency unit at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, a unit that was specifically created to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

The unit had previously been a coronary care unit, and had been deemed the physically correct place to put the new coronavirus unit due to its layout.

Kathleen admits that it’s been very emotional, but that she is so proud of her team and how they have handled it.

“The way the Glasgow Royal came together, I feel like a proud mother to the team.

“The most difficult part is the patients can’t see us.

“We lost that physical contact, a smile, a touch, a look in the eye.

“That’s very hard.”

Kathleen added that seeing patients separated from their families was also very difficult for the staff.

“You really put yourself in their shoes” she said: “it’s very sad and humbling.

“You think about what it would be like to be away from my husband and kids” Kathleen, whose family has been very supportive through these difficult times: “They see me coming home emotionally drained, they’ve been incredible, I’m very proud of them.”

Today, Nicola Sturgeon announced that Scotland would enter phase one of lockdown easing on Friday, where some of the outdoor measures will be changed, although physical distancing is still in place.

The First Minister stressed the importance of people following the guidelines to avoid another spike in the virus, though she added that she has: “enormous trust and faith in the Scottish people”.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to scotsman.com and enjoy unlimited access to Scottish news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.scotsman.com/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.