Watch Emma Thompson’s heartfelt message to NHS Scotland after donating PPE

The renowned actor, screenwriter and activist is staying with her family in Dunoon.

Emma Thompson has sent a heartfelt video message to staff at the Inverclyde Royal Hospital, after donating PPE through a charity campaign.

Thompson, who splits her time between London and the West of Scotland, is currently staying with her family in Dunoon.

After seeing that Inverclyde was one of the worst hit areas in Scotland by COVID-19, the 61-year-old star made a donation through the charity Mail Force.

Emma Thompson has sent a heartfelt video message to staff at the Inverclyde Royal Hospital, after donating PPE through a charity campaign.

Her contribution provided 5,000 PPE aprons to the Inverclyde hospital, which will go towards building the staff’s reserve stock.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, which runs the hospital, said it currently has good supplies across the region.

“Newspapers can often make you feel quite helpless but the Daily Mail’s Mail Force charity is practical and useful and genuinely required,” the actress said.

“When they asked if I’d like my donation to go towards a particular place, I immediately thought of Inverclyde. They have been amazing to cope and pull together against the odds in all of this.

“The NHS expresses the best of us: a sense of social morality, mutual responsibility and care towards one another that as we see in this crisis, is the most important part of all our institutions, there is nothing else.

“The only thing that stands between us and calamity in this crisis is the NHS. We’ve seen how valuable it is. So it’s important to not just clap but to also make sure we value it in a real and functional way - with more resources, funding and staff.”

Inverclyde Royal Hospital was the first in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to have a positive case of Covid-19 in mid-March, and has since recorded the highest death rate in Scotland from the disease.

Dr Abby Gunn, lead clinician at Inverclyde Royal Hospital, thanked Ms Thompson, saying: “We’re a small but dedicated team in Inverclyde. The community is amazing here and patients and staff alike have banded together in these tough circumstances.

“We’re grateful to Emma for her kind donation and warm wishes.”

Jane Grant, Chief Executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, said: “Our sincere thanks to Emma and Mail Force for their generosity and thoughts of Inverclyde.

“We are so proud of our team at Inverclyde Royal Hospital and indeed all of our staff who have gone above and beyond to care for our patients in these tough times. These aprons will go towards building our reserve stocks of PPE.”

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.

Joy Yates

Editorial Director