The Duchess of Cambridge made a phone call to an NHS ward host, Gimba, who provided food and care to COVID 19 patients in hospital.

During the call, Kate spoke to Gimba who explained that her mother had been taken ill in Nigeria and she was unable to visit her due to travel restrictions. Despite the difficult news, Gimba refused to take time off from her work saying, “I have to feed my patients.”

During the call, the Duchess asked after Gimba’s mother, who is now thankfully doing better and is out of hospital. Kate commended Gimba for her hard work and dedication to the patients on her ward and agreed that “food nurtures the soul.”

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Gimba said her role was “a job I love to do because the patients need us,” and said she has been working at the hospital for 20 years. Kate told her that she bet Gimba “made [patients’] day that little bit brighter.”

A photograph of Gimba having lunch in the hospital staff room has been included in the Hold Still project, which Kate is working on in collaboration with the National Portrait Gallery.

The photograph was taken by Hassan Akkad who submitted it to the project. Gimba recalled finding out that the picture of her had been selected as a finalist.

“They called me, told me, I was so happy. I’m very grateful, thank you so much,” she said to Kate.

The Duchess responded by telling Gimba, "not at all, it's lovely to see that resilience and that glimmer of hope that you showed.”

The full video can be watched on YouTube along with other videos of the Duchess’ conversations with Hold Still participants.

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