Staff at Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin are to create a tapestry commemorating the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on the people of Moray.
Locals are being asked to send in their ideas for words and images they think should be included in the artwork, which will tour different locations around the region before being installed permanently in the hospital chapel.
The project is the brainchild of Dr Gray’s chaplain Rev Ian Pallett, who said work will take place on it through the autumn.
He said: “The pandemic has meant different things to different people and we would like to invite our staff and local community to come forward with ideas and inspiration.
“The kinds of things that can be included in the tapestry are words, short phrases and very simple images.
“We are working with a local artist to develop ideas from the community into this piece of textile art over the course of the summer and autumn of this year.”
THREAD // Hospital staff to create artwork to acknowledge the impact of COVID-19
Dr Gray’s Hospital chaplain would like to mark the extraordinary time the community has been through during COVID-19 by encouraging staff to create a commemorative tapestry. @HSCMoray @MorayCouncil pic.twitter.com/lle41zzXiF
— Dr Gray's Hospital (@DrGrays_Elgin) August 13, 2021
Tapestry will ‘help us remember, when better times arrive’
Alasdair Pattinson, general manager at Dr Gray’s, said: “I was touched when Ian approached me with this idea.
“Over the last year, our working and personal lives faced a significant disruption because of the pandemic.
“For most of us this has had a profound impact, and one that continues to be felt so many months on.”
He added: “As is often the case at times of adversity, our health and care staff have responded and adapted remarkably well, and we are grateful for their continued professionalism and compassion.
“The tapestry is a great way to allow us to reflect and visually capture our experience of the pandemic and will allow us to remember all that it meant to us when better times arrive.”
‘Covid has impacted in different ways’
Last month, the Elgin hospital announced that they would bring in some changes to their maternity and day-case units to cope with demand and a staffing shortage partially resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.
Rev Pallett said: “Chaplains tend to get called in at key moments of sorrow or of joy – turning points often in peoples’ lives.
“Covid has impacted on individuals and communities in different ways and it is good to be seeking to capture some of this in the tapestry.”
Ideas can be sent in using the online form here, or by emailing a simple image to gram.involve@nhs.scot before September 10.