Joined at the hip

TOGETHER again . . . nursing staff are making sure Derek and Gladys Pye get to see each other regularly while they recover

ROYAL Oldham Hospital staff are determined not to let two broken hips stand in the way of true love.

Every day, nurses rearrange the beds on ward T7 so devoted couple Derek and Gladys Pye can be together. The pair arrived there within days of each other after falling and breaking a hip.

Wheeling Derek (80) round to Gladys (94) has become a routine manoeuvre while the couple — who both suffer from dementia — recuperate.

It’s also making life easier for their daughter, Corinne Copeland from Royton.

She says the pair — who married in 1957 — look forward to their time together.

“First my dad had a fall at Hadfield House care home in Glodwick, then 10 days later I got a call from the home saying my mum had done the same. Staff on the ward wondered what I was doing back there again!

“They have been absolutely brilliant and were only too happy to wheel my dad round to my mum, as they’re in different rooms. It’s nice for them to see each other every day, hold hands and spend some time together — and it’s convenient for visiting time!

“All the family came to visit the other day and we all sat together for a good hour or so, it was lovely.”

Ward T7 sister, Michelle Fowley, said: “We are making sure the couple can see each other regularly.

“Mrs Pye is very happy and it is reassuring for Mr Pye to be able to see that his wife is safe and well.”