Covid-19: Tree of Hope mural unveiled at Kettering hospital

A large mural has been painted in a hospital atrium to symbolise the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the response to it.

The hand-painted 30ft (9.1m)-high Tree of Hope at Kettering General Hospital represents those who have lost their lives, those who have survived, and the work of hospital staff.

It is based on idea by a nurse at the Northamptonshire hospital.

Sister Doreen Page said she wanted to "create a symbol".

Local artist Catherine Matthews, who has produced other murals on wards and in the hospital's dementia garden, painted the image on three boards fixed together in the Foundation Wing atrium.

Ms Page, a recovery practitioner in the ear, nose and throat theatres, said she had noticed some intensive care units had been commemorating patients lost to Covid-19 with symbolic hearts and she wanted to "take it further than that".

"I had an idea to... create a symbol of those who were lost, those who have survived, and something to mark the tremendous amount of work being done by NHS staff," she said.

"The idea of the Tree of Hope is that its roots represent the hospital's core values deeply embedded in supporting its local community.

"The branches are our frontline workers swaying in the storm of the pandemic, but not breaking.

"The leaves represent the survivors of the pandemic and also those who sadly lost their lives and should be commemorated."

The hospital's director of human resources, Paula Kirkpatrick, said: "Doreen's idea really summed up a lot of what everyone has been going through during this pandemic."

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