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A recovering Covid-19 patient video called his girlfriend with a marriage proposal after he came off the ventilator – and hospital staff were thrilled when she said yes.

He was able to pop the question thanks to Life Lines, an initiative to provide tablets for ICU patients who are unable to see their loved ones because of the coronavirus risk.

Life Lines is the brainchild Professor Louise Rose from Kings College London, Dr Joel Meyer from Guy’s and St Thomas’ and Aetonix CEO Michel Paquet. They have now provided 1046 tablets in 159 intensive care sites, thanks to support from BT and have helped patients make more than 15,000 video calls across the country.

Professor Rose spotted the need for connection early on in the Covid-19 crisis when she read about Italian families who couldn’t be with their loved ones as they were dying in intensive care and, as Dr Meyer explains, the “virtual visits” have led to some heart-warming moments.

“We’ve had a marriage proposal – a man who was just about able to speak having just come off a ventilator wanted to propose to his girlfriend, so we facilitated that. And she said yes! Scenes like that really brighten our days,” he says.

“It’s also quite common for patients to want to chat to their pets.”

Private companies such as BT have played a massive part in the government’s response to tackling coronavirus and they’re working hard to provide the day-to-day services the country relies on as well as going above and beyond to support the NHS and vulnerable people.

Staff have been redeployed to rapidly change the services their companies offer, whether that’s delivering food parcels to people shielding at home or using technology to support the NHS.

Cabinet Office Minister Lord Agnew has paid tribute to their work. “The way we have seen many large organisations and their staff move from their normal day-to-day work into projects to help tackle coronavirus has been remarkable,” he says.

“They have been able to turn around projects very quickly, such as delivering hundreds of new ventilators to the NHS and setting up systems to deliver much needed resources, including food parcels and PPE equipment, to those who really need it.

“Their work is a tribute to their organisations and a wonderful example of their commitment to working on behalf of the public.”

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