Heartbeat in a Bottle scheme for deceased patients' relatives
A critical care nurse in Staffordshire has come up with an innovative way for relatives to remember their loved ones.
Holly Minshall, who works for the University Hospitals of North Midlands Trust, created the Heartbeat in a Bottle scheme.
It features a small test tube bottle – which contains a rhythm strip of the patient's heartbeat – handed to families as a keepsake when their loved one dies.
Holly, who came up with the idea after witnessing the distress families experience, said: "I have worked in critical care for just over six months, and during that time I’ve felt so sad for our patients’ relatives.
"There were so many times when I held the phone to a patient whilst their relatives spoke to them, often saying their last goodbyes, and I just thought – surely there is something we can do to offer a small glimpse of light in the darkness?
"I knew about the idea of making knitted hearts for patients and then I saw something to do with printing off rhythm strips, and it all kind of came together really.
"I contacted different companies and people were more than willing to help."
Difficult
Nurses from other critical care units are now getting in touch with Holly in a bid to replicate the idea.
She added: "We think it will be really nice for families to have something deeply personal and specific to their loved one which they can see, hold and touch.
"We place the ‘heartbeats’ into patients’ belongings for the family so that they are ready and waiting for them to find when they come to collect things.
"It’s early days yet as we’ve only just introduced the idea, but we really hope that the heartbeats will bring comfort to families at a very difficult time."
Handy Labels designed and produced the labels for free, with Plastic Test Tubes LTD for donating the test tubes.
Find out more below.
