Video of Inverness doctor serenading baby at Raigmore Hospital goes viral on social media
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A doctor has been using singing to calm young patients at Raigmore Hospital.
Dr Ryan Coetzee – dubbed the Singing Doctor – is based in the paediatrics department.
A film of the 29-year-old crooning Unforgettable to a mesmerised baby while he carried out blood tests was viewed more than 400,000 times within 24 hours of it being shared on social media by the baby’s mother and NHS Highland.
Dr Coetzee, who is from South Africa, is trained in classical singing and while he was at medical school in Johannesburg he also taught singing and piano.
“I have always sung randomly around people,” he said. “Singing is also a big cultural thing in South Africa – before the ward rounds, the nurses would sing hymns and say prayers.”
Dr Coetzee enjoys singing “the oldies” such as Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole numbers but also performs Disney favourites such as Bear Necessities from The Jungle Book and Let It Go from Frozen. “Singing to the patients has always been something I have done,” he said. “It’s a natural thing for me to sing and when you work in paediatrics it’s fun to be silly and make the kids laugh.”
He also conceded there are mixed reactions.
“Some kids respond much better than others and there have been occasions I have been told to keep quiet!” he said.
Dr Coetzee is on a four-month locum placement which is due to finish next month when he hopes to get a placement in England to further his experience.
He previously worked at a hospital in Coleraine, Northern Ireland, where his singing talents were also spotted. During his time at Raigmore, he has expanded his skills in making balloon animals for young patients having previously been able to create a cow or chicken using surgical gloves.
Inverness mother Shannon Wemyss, who shared the video of Dr Coetzee singing to her 10-month-old daughter, Gracey, described him as “amazing”.
She explained that her daughter, who has Down’s syndrome, has undergone surgery for a hole in the heart as well as kidney and lung surgery and is usually distraught at having her blood taken but on this occasion there was not one tear.
“As soon as he started singing, she was mesmerised,” said Mrs Wemyss, who lives with husband Mike in Westercraigs. “He just came out with his amazing voice. I have never seen anything like it.”
Muir of Ord mother Michelle McEwan has also shared a video of the doctor singing to her six-month-old son Archie when he revisited the ward for a follow-up procedure after recovering from sepsis.
“It was really heart-warming to see how well he connects with the kids,” said Mrs McEwan, who is currently on maternity leave as a nurse at the hospital. “He has a really nice way with them.”
Related article: WATCH: Singing doctor in the Highlands uses vocal talents to calm down baby
