Tributes flood in for NHS victims

Tributes have flooded in for NHS staff known to have died after contracting Covid-19.

Yesterday, the first serving NHS midwife in England to die after testing positive for the virus was confirmed when Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, Essex, announced the death of Lynsay Coventry, 54.

Two nurses – both young mothers – five doctors and two healthcare assistants have also contracted coronavirus and died since the start of the outbreak.

Lance Mccarthy, chief executive of the Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust (PAHT), said Ms Coventry, a grandmother, would be remembered for her “professionalism and commitment”.

He said: “Lynsay has been a midwife at PAHT for ten years and her loss will be felt by the maternity team and colleagues from across the organisation. Lynsay had tested positive for Covid-19 and died on Thursday.”

In a statement, her family said: “Lynsay followed her dream and trained as a midwife later in life. She was a very well-respected midwife who supported many hundreds of women as they welcomed their babies into the world.”

Nurse Areema Nasreen, 36, died on 2 April in intensive care at Walsall Manor Hospital in the West Midlands – where she had worked for 16 years.

Richard Beeken, chief executive of Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, said: “Any death is devastating but losing one of our own is beyond words.her dedication to her role and her popularity amongst her

colleagues is obvious to see with the outpouring of grief and concern we are seeing around the organisation and on social media.”

Aimee O’rourke, 39, also died at the hospital she worked at – the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital – in Margate, Kent, on Thursday.

Julie Gammon, ward manager on the acute medical unit where Ms O’rourke worked, said her team were devastated by the loss.

“She was such a kind and caring nurse, and she had a really special relationship with her patients and colleagues,” she said.

“Nursing was something she had always wanted to do, although she came to it relatively late after raising her girls.”

Meanwhile, it was reported that John Alagos, a 27-yearold nurse who treated coronavirus patients at Watford General Hospital, died after a shift on Friday.

His mother, Gina Gustilo, said he fell ill during a 12-hour shift but did not leave work early.

She said: “I asked ‘Why didn’t you come home?’ He said he had asked other staff but they said they were short of staff and they did not let him go.

“I said, ‘OK, take some paracetamol.’ After a few minutes, I found him turning blue in his bed.’

Healthcare assistant Thomas Harvey, 57, a father of seven who worked at Goodmayes Hospital in Ilford, east London, died at home on March 29 after feeling unwell for several days.

Professor Oliver Shanley, chief executive of the North East London Foundation Trust (NELFT), said: “Thomas was a longstanding, dedicated member of our intermediate care team. This is a huge loss to both NELFT and the wider NHS.”

Following his death, Mr Harvey’s family criticised the NHS for the lack of personal protective equipment provided to staff, saying he had been given only a flimsy apron and gloves.

Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove said of the deceased at Saturday’s Number 10 press briefing: “They died while doing everything they could to help the sick and the suffering.”

He added: “We can all best honour them in playing our part in fighting the disease by staying home and slowing the spread.”