A KIND-HEARTED worker at Johnstone train station is helping to make sure deliveries of support packages for hospital staff and patients stay on track.

Susan Temple and her team of volunteers have arranged safe collection and delivery of toiletries, food and drink for NHS heroes, as well as patients, at a number of sites, including Paisley’s Royal Alexandra Hospital.

The caring gesture started after Renfrewshire Provost Lorraine Cameron contacted Susan to ask for some help.

Susan, 55, said: “A nurse from the RAH had told Lorraine the hospital was running out of toiletries and, as there are no visitors, the patients weren’t getting snacks such as biscuits either.

“I put an appeal out to ScotRail staff and we managed to help the RAH. Now we are helping to donate to nine hospitals.”

Susan enlisted the help of eight volunteers at ScotRail, who have been delivering packages for hospitals across the west of Scotland.

The grandmother-of-two said: “The response has been absolutely amazing and my colleagues have been really supportive.

“While we are frontline workers, it’s really the staff at hospitals who are fighting this every day.”

James Ledgerwood, ScotRail’s head of economic development and communities, has praised Susan and other staff who are thinking of others during the coronavirus pandemic.

He said: “It’s absolutely fantastic to see that our people continue to do their bit for charity and the communities we serve, despite these unusual and challenging times.”

However, Susan has stressed that it is important for local residents to follow government advice and stay at home.

She added: “We don’t want to encourage people to come into the train station to drop stuff off for the hospitals, because people should really only be visiting the station for essential purposes at the moment.”

Read all the latest from Renfrewshire and beyond

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