Coronavirus – Nurse, 70, who served 44 years with NHS is 15th medic to die as family blames lack of protective equipment
A NURSE who served 44 years with the NHS has become the 15th medic to die from coronavirus.
Alice Kit Tak Ong, 70, was described as “completely dedicated” to her job by her devastated daughter Melissa.
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Her family now claim that she died due to a lack of personal protective equipment while working in doctors’ surgeries.
Melissa Ong, 37, told : “She was completely dedicated to her work, that’s what she was doing until the moment she was taken ill.
“She loved her job and she loved her patients.”
Melissa added: “We don’t know for sure when she contracted it, but she was working without protective equipment. We’ve accepted it, she was doing what she loved.”
She was completely dedicated to her work, that’s what she was doing until the moment she was taken ill.
Melissa Ong
It comes after another nurse having tragically died from coronavirus.
Rebecca Mack, 29, was the 14th front line NHS medic killed by the virus after she tragically died at home on Sunday.
Her heartbroken mum Marion has now revealed Rebecca had told her and dad Alan she was "feeling better" at around 6pm on Sunday.
When she failed to reply to a message at 10pm, Marion assumed she had gone to sleep - not knowing her daughter had taken a turn for the worse.
Rebecca had called paramedics and left the front door open - but by the time they arrived, she was already dead.
Dr Anton Sebastianpillai, 75, a consultant geriatrician, passed away on Saturday at Kingston Hospital having been cared there in intensive care.
He is believed to be the 13th frontline medic to die from the killer bug in the UK.
'DISTINGUISHED' DOCTOR
The consultant geriatrician, who qualified as a doctor in Sri Lanka in 1967, finished his last shift on March 20.
A spokesman for the hospital said: "It is with great sadness that I confirm the death of a consultant geriatrician who was part of the team...Dr Anton Sebastianpillai died on Saturday 4 April 2020 having been cared for in the hospital's intensive care unit since March 31.
"Dr Sebastianpillai completed his last shift with us on March 20 and we would like to extend our sincere condolences to his family."
They told the Sun Online the 75-year-old had not come out of retirement contrary to other media reports.
Dr Sebastianpillai trained at the Peradeniya Medical School in Sri Lanka and qualified in 1967, according to the institution.
In an obituary notice, he was referred to as a "distinguished alumnus".
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His death comes after heart surgeon and dad-of-two Jitendra Rathod, who worked at the University Hospital of Wales, died on Monday morning in Cardiff after testing positive for Covid-19.
The dad-of-two was described as an "incredibly dedicated surgeon" who cared deeply for his patients and was highly regarded in the medical profession in Wales.
Elsewhere, a British Pakistani GP based in east London died in hospital on Monday after it is believed he developed coronavirus symptoms.
According to The News International, a newspaper in Pakistan, Dr Syed Haider had been receiving treatment at Queen's Hospital in Romford where he passed away.
A staff member at the Valence Medical Centre in Dagenham, east London - where Dr Haider worked, confirmed he had died.
The News International said it had spoken to his son, named only as Dr Kumail, who described his father as "a selfless man driven by his passion for his profession".
He added: "Even whilst in hospital breathing his last, he was urging doctors and nurses to pay attention to other patients rather than him. Many at his age would have retired yet his dedication to his profession was immeasurable."
Colleagues of a midwife who died from coronavirus lined the hospital ward where she worked to share their grief.
Lynsay Coventry, 54, died at Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust on Thursday - just a day before long-serving nurse Liz Glanister died in Liverpool.
Two other nurses, five doctors and two healthcare assistants have also died in the UK after contracting COVID-19.
John Alagos, 23, is believed to be the youngest British medic to have died from the deadly bug - collapsing after a 12 hour hospital shift.
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Dr Habib Zaidi, 76, from Leigh-on-Sea, is one of five doctors to have died from the deadly virus.
The well-respected GP died in intensive care at Southend Hospital, Essex, on March 25.
Dr Alfa Saadu, who worked for the NHS for nearly 40 years in different hospitals across London, died last week after fighting the disease for a fortnight.
The Nigerian-born doctor was 68 and had selflessly refused to retire.
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