Dying couple moved to same hospital ward so they could celebrate final anniversary together

A dying couple were able to spend their 66th wedding anniversary together in hospital after kind staff moved them next to each other.

Mary Bilton, 86, and husband Ron, 89, were therefore able to share some precious final moments before passing away within days of one another.

Mrs Bilton had been rushed to Hull Royal Infirmary in the final stages of cancer, while her husband Ron was already being treated there for multi-organ failure.

Staff found out from Mr Bilton’s granddaughter that his wife had been admitted to the hospital’s Elderly Assessment Unit (EAU) nine floors below.

Realising Mr Bilton was nearing the end of his life, staff on his ward organised for patients to be moved safely to other areas so Mrs Bilton could see her husband before he died.

She then spent time by his bedside, holding hands with the man she had shared her life with before he slipped away. She died days later.

Sister Rosie Featherstone said: “We were determined to do everything we could so they could be together at the end.

“We know it made a real difference to Mrs Bilton that she could be with him and she was able to sit in a wheelchair at the side of his bed holding his hand before he died.

“We were all crying when Mr Bilton died but glad we could help them be together. Everyone on the ward worked as a team to make it happen.”

The kind-hearted gesture occurred after Mr Bilton’s condition deteriorated rapidly within 24-hours of his arrival in hospital.

With no bed free on the ward, Sister Featherstone sought permission from hospital managers and, together with junior sister Ellis Howard, arranged a five-way bed swap to bring Mrs Bilton onto the same bay as her husband.

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Staff on the ward have now been nominated for a Moments of Magic award, organised by Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust to recognise staff who go above and beyond their duties.

Stacey Healand, Senior Matron on the Department of Elderly Medicine, said: “We have a great team in the department who always put their patients at the centre of everything we do.

“We’re very proud of what the team achieved on behalf of Mr and Mrs Bilton and their family.”

The couple, from Barton-upon-Humber, North Lincolnshire, have since been buried together after a joint funeral.