Coronavirus: Sir Tom fund pays for hospital patient tablets

Hospitals in Birmingham have used money raised by Captain Tom Moore to buy tablet devices so patients can have "virtual visits" from family members.

The £32.8m raised by the centenarian - now Sir Tom after being knighted - is being distributed to charities.

University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) received £182,000, to be spent on tablets and support for bereaved relatives at its four sites.

The trust has banned non-essential visits to patients because of Covid-19.

The head of UHB's charity, Mike Hammond, said: "We have been funding tablets so we can have virtual visits between patients and families. And sadly for those loved ones who have passed away we have been doing bereavement support packs."

Sir Tom had initially planned to raise £1,000 by doing 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday.

But after capturing the affection and attention of 1.5 million supports worldwide, he raised almost £33m for the health service's charitable wing, NHS Charities Together.

Mr Hammond, whose charity supports the city's Queen Elizabeth, Heartlands, Good Hope and Solihull hospitals, praised the achievement of Sir Tom and others who have raised money.

"We've seen this massive outpouring of emotion and I think people wanted to support the NHS, frontline staff, patients and so the NHS Charities Together appeal was a great way of doing this."

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