A fit and healthy paramedic who was ‘taken down in a week’ has become one of the latest healthcare workers to die from coronavirus.
Mark Stanley, 57, who was stationed at Halifax Ambulance Station in West Yorkshire, died in Calderdale Royal Hospital on Thursday after a week-long battle with the virus.
Mr Stanley, who was a paramedic for more than 30 years after military service in the Life Guards, leaves a wife and two grown-up daughters. Colleagues gathered outside his station in Halifax on Thursday evening to pay tribute to him during the Clap For Carers.
Friend Mark Rattigan, who is also a paramedic, said: ‘He was as fit as you can get for a 57-year-old. You would struggle to find a 30-year-old with his level of fitness. But it’s taken him down in a week.’
It comes as a ‘dedicated’ consultant and Pakistani doctor who joined the NHS only two months ago have died from the new coronavirus.
Mark Stanley, 57, (left and right) who was stationed at Halifax Ambulance Station in West Yorkshire, died in Calderdale Royal Hospital on Thursday after a week-long battle with the virus
Colleagues gathered outside his station in Halifax on Thursday evening to pay tribute to him during the Clap For Carers
Dr Nasir Khan, from Bolton, Greater Manchester, was a locum doctor working for The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. He died in hospital in his home town on Wednesday.
A second doctor, Dr Furqan Ali Siddiqui, worked at Manchester Royal Infirmary and was at the end of his NHS training when he caught the virus. He’d been on a ventilator for four weeks before he lost his battle with the disease.
Meanwhile it’s emerged that a hero nurse, Felix Khor, who came out of retirement to help his former hospital has spent 30 days on a ventilator fighting for his life after contracting Covid-19.
Hospital consultant Dr Nasir Khan who died after contracting Covid-19. The married father-of-three was a locum doctor working at Dewsbury and District Hospital in West Yorkshire
Dr Siddiqui had moved to the UK from his native Pakistan to support his six children, wife and elderly patients. Colleagues from the Association of Pakistani Physicians and Surgeons of the United Kingdom were among those to pay tribute to him.
The organisation said he was the 15th Muslim doctor to die from Covid-19 in Britain.
A spokesperson said: ‘Furqan Siddiqui was a doctor working in NHS in Manchester Royal infirmary and was coming to the end of his training.
‘Despite the risk to his own health and life, he continued to care for his patients. Unfortunately, he himself fell ill with Covid-19.
‘He is another NHS hero who had travelled thousands of miles to work for the NHS and made the ultimate sacrifice,’ they added.
Dr Khan, who was a father-of-three, joined The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals trust in November and had been working at Dewsbury and District Hospital when he fell ill with the virus about a month ago. He was admitted to Bolton NHS Foundation Trust on 6 April, The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said.
A second doctor, Dr Furqan Ali Siddiqui, worked at Manchester Royal Infirmary and was at the end of his NHS training when he caught the virus. He had moved to the UK only two months ago from Pakistan
More than £34,000 has been donated to a fundraising appeal set up to help his family.
His son Mahad Ali Khan told the BBC that his father would ‘look for the slightest of excuses to help those in need’.
Martin Barkley, chief executive of Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, described Dr Khan as ‘a very well-liked and valued member of the team’ and his colleagues spoke ‘of his incredibly positive nature and kindness’.
Mr Stanley, from Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire, was the second member of Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) staff to die this week after contracting Covid-19.
The other has not been named but YAS said they were an Advanced Emergency Medical Technician, from North Yorkshire, who died on Tuesday.
Chief Executive Rod Barnes said: ‘Both colleagues had worked tirelessly for many years serving their local communities, and were married with families.
‘On behalf of everyone at YAS, we would like to offer our deepest sympathies to their families.
‘We know that many people within the trust are affected by this very tragic news and we are supporting our staff at this very difficult time.’
Meanwhile Jermaine Wright, 46, who worked in a pharmacy at the Royal Brompton Hospital, in Chelsea, West London has also died.
He tragically lost his battle with Covid-19 on Monday April 27. More than £6,000 has been raised for Jermaine’s family through a fundraising page. Hundreds of people took to social media to post tributes to Jermaine.
More than 110 health and care workers have died in the UK during the pandemic.
Black and Asian Britons are two-and-a-half times more likely to die from coronavirus than whites, analysis of NHS records has suggested.
An Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) report found the death rate among Black African Britons was three times that of the white British population.
Felix Khor, who came out of retirement to help his former hospital has spent 30 days on a ventilator fighting for his life after contracting Covid-19.
Felix Khor who came out of retirement to help his former hospital has spent 30 days on a ventilator fighting for his life after contracting Covid-19
Friends of Mr Khor, who’s in his 60s, described the former A&E nurse as ‘amazing’ and prayed that he would pull through.
Felix has been on a ventilator in an intensive care unit in Southend Hospital in Essex, for 30 days battling coronavirus.
The experienced nurse who lives in Shoebury, Essex, had retired from his role as the hospital’s resuscitation officer.
But he returned to the hospital’s A&E unit shortly after the outbreak and had helped in the frontline battle of the pandemic.
However, just over a month ago Felix contracted coronavirus and has now spent a month on a ventilator fighting for his life.
His close friend, Linda Leak, 73, a former surgical nurse at the hospital, said: ‘It’s amazing that he’s still fighting after so long.
‘The hospital team is trying to move him off the ventilator but has not been able to do this yet.
‘There seems to be no change at the moment.
‘The hospital is like a big family for the staff and while it’s devastating for the teams, they consider it an honour to be able to look after him
‘We are very close and used to see each other very regularly. He is very well regarded and a very memorable guy.
Selfless’ nurse Keith Dunnington, 54, from South Shields, near Newcastle, died from coronavirus after working on the frontline at Gateshead’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital
‘He was the hospital resuscitation officer and had retired but went back to do shifts in the A&E department.’
Mrs Leak also revealed Mr Khor had raised fears in mid-March over the personal protection equipment on offer to staff treating Covid-19 patients.
She said: ‘He came to me on about March 17 and said he was concerned about the personal protection on offer to staff and felt it was inadequate.
‘He then text me on about March 25 to say he was very worried about protection and keeping safe from the virus. He’s a very good nurse, one of the best.’
Mrs Leak said Mr Khor gets a lot of pleasure out of helping others and that others would describe him as very clever.
She said he loved nursing and that everyone is routing for him to beat this virus and make a recovery.
Dad-of-two Anujkumar Kuttikkottu Pavithran, 44, passed away on Monday at Pilgrim Hospital in Boston, Lincs., where he worked as a staff nurse
There has also been a huge outpouring of support in the community for Mr Khor.
More than 100 people have been posting kind words on a local newspaper Facebook page for the nurse.
Sarah Rooke posted: ‘What a wonderful man Felix is. I met him last year when my darling dad was admitted to hospital.
‘He was great with my dad and our family going through a tough time. Thoughts and prayers to you and your family.’
Kate Lennie posted: ‘Felix is an awesome nurse. He teaches life support with such enthusiasm; it’s gutting everyone to hear that he is in this situation.’
Mr Khor moved to the UK from Malaysia 30 years ago to train as a nurse and became a British citizen.
Meanwhile a ‘selfless, hardworking and dedicated’ nurse at Gateshead’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital has died after contracting coronavirus.
Nurse Ken Lambatan, who was based at the cardiology department at St George’s Hospital in London died of Covid-19
Long-standing staff nurse Keith Dunnington, from South Shields, died on April 19 after supporting the NHS frontline in its battle with Covid-19.
Colleagues have paid tribute to the 54-year-old, who leaves behind two children, as a popular and hardworking family man.
Yvonne Ormston MBE, chief executive of Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust said: ‘It is with tremendous sadness that we announce the passing of Keith Dunnington.
‘Keith was a long-serving Staff Nurse who worked on medical, surgical and elderly wards here at Gateshead Health NHS FT.
‘Keith was a popular and hard-working member of our fantastic nursing team. He will be very missed by his co-workers here at the trust and by the patients he cared for.’
Ms Ormston added: ‘Keith most recently worked on Ward 12 where his colleagues remember him very fondly.
‘He was known for always having a positive outlook which others found really encouraging and for taking time to check-in with colleagues.
‘On Sundays he put particular importance on everyone having a proper dinner and often arranged food for everyone. When not at work he volunteered at soup kitchens and spent time with his family, who he spoke so highly about.
NHS cleaner Eileen Landers, pictured, died at Queen’s Hospital in Burton-upon-Trent where she had worked for the past 16 years
‘My thoughts are with Keith’s family, friends and colleagues at this incredibly sad and difficult time.’
The trust said that although Keith was ‘very much part of the QE family’, he was employed by nursing agency Pulse Jobs.
Lorna Duka from Pulse Jobs said: ‘Keith was a very selfless, hardworking and dedicated nurse who planned to help at the Nightingale during this pandemic.
‘His positivity really stood out during this time; cracking jokes and asking me how I was coping. He always spoke very fondly of his family and his colleagues at Gateshead who he had the opportunity to work with regularly over the last year. He will be very much missed.
Meanwhile A front-line NHS key worker who qualified as a nurse just a few months ago after nearly a decade of training has died from coronavirus.
Dad-of-two Anujkumar Kuttikkottu Pavithran, 44, passed away on Monday at Pilgrim Hospital in Boston, Lincs., where he worked as a staff nurse.
More than 90 NHS staff have died of Covid-19 since March 25, new figures have shown. Some of the doctors, nurses, paramedics and cleaning staff are show in this composite image
The dedicated key worker continued in the role despite being diabetic, meaning he was in a category of people the government has deemed ‘high risk’.
According to colleagues, Mr Pavithran, known as Kumar, qualified as a nurse in autumn 2019 after spending the previous nine years training for the position.
He has been described as ‘passionate about his job’ to the point he refused to stay at home during the crisis despite his underlying health conditions.
Kumar was not working in a Covid-19 ward when he contracted the disease.
A fundraising appeal has been set up to support Anuj’s wife and children, who have been left with no income, according to Kumar’s friend Jerry Varghese.
He posted on the page saying: ‘He (Kumar) was a qualified registered nurse, passionate about his job.
‘He was a valuable member of the team and loved by his friends and family equally.
‘During the unprecedented Covid crisis, Anuj worked day and night constantly, when he contracted this illness.
‘Currently his wife, two children and family are left without income.
‘There is nothing we can do to bring their normality back, but the least we can do is to help with the funeral and family support fund.’
According to Mr Varghese, Kumar’s wife is currently training to be a nurse.
The crowdfunding page on Facebook to raise money for the family has already accumulated more than £40,000.
Since his death on Monday hundreds of tributes have poured in for Kumar, who was described as ‘dedicated’, ‘ambitious’ and ‘caring’.
The United Lincolnshire’s Hospitals NHS Trust’s chief executive Andrew Morgan said he was ‘deeply saddened’ by Mr Pavithran’s death.
He added: ‘He was a very well liked, professional, respected member of the team and will be greatly missed.
‘We are all sending our heartfelt condolences to Kumar’s family, friends and colleagues at this incredibly difficult time.’
A hospital porter who worked for the NHS for 20 years died on Wednesday after testing positive for coronavirus.
Mike Brown, who had underlying health condition, was described as ‘popular’ by his colleagues and always went ‘above and beyond’ to help others.
The 61-year-old passed away at Southampton General Hospital, Hants, whose trust he had been employed by for the past two decades.
He had been receiving treatment in the critical care unit until his death in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Paula Head, chief executive of UHS, said: ‘Mike had been with our hospital for 20 years and played a significant role supporting services that enable patients to receive great care and experiences.
‘He was well-recognised and popular with so many staff, once nominated by colleagues for a Hospital Heroes award for always going above and beyond and he often shared his good sense of humour with everyone around.
‘Our thoughts are with Mike’s partner, Sandy, and his family and he will remain fondly in our thoughts, particularly those of his close colleagues and the staff he worked with on the wards regularly.’