The Sunderland nurse behind the touching thank you notes left on NHS worker's windscreens

Staff at Sunderland Royal Hospital have been returning to their cars to find touching thank you notes left on their windscreens.

The mystery sender is Emma Dalton, a liver specialist nurse, who has been trying to spread positivity among those working on the frontline of the Covid-19 crisis.

The 25-year-old, who has worked at the hospital for seven years, used her day off on Friday, March 27 to give out more than 100 thank you notes to her fellow NHS workers.

In a video which Emma shared on her Facebook page, the nurse from Washington, admitted that she was “scared too” in light of the current situation.

Emma said: “The hospital is under so much pressure at the moment, I think I can speak on behalf of all of the NHS when I say we are putting in the extra shifts.

“I know I left work a few times last week and broke down in my car.”

As of Saturday, March 28 there are now more than 17,000 cases of Covid-19 throughout the UK and more than 1,000 patients have sadly died.

Sunderland saw an additional 13 cases of Covid-19 on Saturday, March 28, bringing the total number of positive cases in the city to 68.

Emma made and wrote all of the notes by hand, before attaching them to random windscreens in the hospital car park.

“It was the Clap for our Carers event that inspired me,” she continued.

“I thought what would I like to see at the end of a hard shift? Wouldn’t it be nice if someone just left me a thank you note.”

The notes included messages such as: “In case you needed to hear this today you’re doing great” and “Not all heroes wear capes – we wear NHS lanyards too”.

Emma added: “Some of the responses have been amazing, it was exactly what I intended to do - to remind people why we do what we do.

“I hope it will encourage other people to do it themselves.”