Coronavirus: Tributes To 'Real NHS Hero' Dr Medhat Atalla Who Died After Contracting Covid-19

Consultant geriatrician, Dr Medhat Atalla, who died at Doncaster Royal Infirmary, moved to the UK from Egypt about 20 years ago

Tributes have been paid to a consultant hailed as a “real NHS hero” by colleagues after he became the latest health worker to die after contracting coronavirus.

Consultant geriatrician Dr Medhat Atalla, who died at Doncaster Royal Infirmary, moved to the UK from Egypt about 20 years ago and cared for elderly people on three continents.

Colleagues described him as a “very special human being”. He is the second member of staff at the hospital to die after plaster technician Kevin Smith.

Tim Noble, Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospital’s medical director, said in a statement: “He was a truly gentle gentleman and he will be hugely missed by us all.”

NHS heroes

The Government said on Wednesday that 69 NHS workers and 15 care workers had died after contracting Covid-19.Tributes have also been paid to a nurse from the Scottish Borders who has died at the hospital where she worked.

Angie Cunningham died on Wednesday after being treated for Covid-19 in the intensive care unit at Borders General Hospital.

She worked for NHS Borders for more than three decades. She has been remembered by colleagues as a “much respected” member of the team who was “proud to be a nurse”.

Colleagues have paid tribute to NHS mental health counsellor Ann Shepherd, who had worked at the Moir Medical Centre in Long Eaton, Derbyshire, for 26 years.

Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust said the 80-year-old had underlying health conditions before she contracted coronavirus.

'An urgent investigation is needed'

Hospital workers gathered in the atrium the Cumberland Infirmary on Thursday to mark the loss of an unnamed agency staff nurse from London who died on Sunday afternoon at Carlisle’s infirmary, leaving behind a wife and four children.

News of the latest deaths comes as the NHS Wales chief executive has called for an urgent investigation into evidence that Covid-19 is having a disproportionate impact on black, Asian and minority ethnic community.

Dr Andrew Goodall said: “We believe an urgent investigation is needed to understand the factors involved.

”We must ensure we exercise our duty of care in a precautionary way to protect all staff and undertake proper risk assessments, including those from the BAME community, while the evidence base is being explored.“

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