Today feels like the right time to share this.
I've been involved in the care of many patients with Covid-19. One of our patients was dying, I was part of the team trying to save their life, when it became clear we were unlikely to be successful we contacted the family.

We explained the situation and that if they wanted to, they could phone in and we would hold the phone to the patients ear and they could say their goodbyes.
This patients family contacted each other and very soon we had about ten relatives lined up to each call in.

This patient was unconscious, so when they rang I would put the phone to the patients ear and put it on speaker to give the best chance of them being heard by the patient.
Doing this was one of the most heart breaking experiences I've had as a nurse. .

The family desperately wanted to be there, they desperately wanted to hug their loved one, they wanted to hold their hand, they wanted to pray for them.

Due to lockdown they could not be there, all their parental and familial instinct told them to be there, but all they could do was ring in and tell them how much they loved them, how special they were and how much they would be missed.

Across the country, tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of families and friends have not been able to be with those they love over these last few weeks. @BorisJohnson