Tributes paid to hospital porter

TRIBUTE has been paid to a much- loved hospital porter who died after catching coronavirus.

Barry Chalmers, 60, took unwell while at work at Glasgow Royal Infirmary earlier this month.

He recovered and was moved to a Covid ward before suffering a devastating relapse and died on November 11, according to the Daily Record.

Staff paid tribute to the porter, who was from Craigend, on social media.

A spokeswoman for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: “Barry was a much- loved member of the GRI family and his death is being mourned by colleagues from across the hospital.

“He was a hardworking, diligent and respected member of staff who will be sorely missed within the Portering Team and beyond. Our thoughts and condolences are with his family at this devastating time.

“Due to Barry’s popularity among his colleagues we recognised that many colleagues would wish to pay their respects at his funeral, but due to restrictions at the crematorium they would not be able to.

“We arranged for the chapel to be open to allow staff time to visit and reflect; a book of condolence was organised and we suggested arranging for the boardroom to be available, allowing staff to watch the streamed funeral service in a socially distanced way.

“These arrangements were appreciated by Barry’s colleagues who were on duty on the day of his funeral and we hope we gave our colleague the send- off he deserved.

“Due to the impact this very sad news had on his colleagues, shortly after Barry died a note was sent to staff across the north sector highlighting the different elements of support that are in place for them. This includes our staff support line, as well as Occupational Health and Chaplaincy Support.”