'My wife died after picking up Covid - but we were never told of hospital ward staff infections,' says Doncaster widower

Clive Mitchell wants to know how many more may have picked up the virus at Hawthorn rehabilitation ward at Tickhill Road Hospital in Balby. He also wants to know why no one was told that it was an issue and why the ward was not closed down.

His wife of 50 years, Anne, had been moved to Hawthorn ward from Doncaster Royal Infirmary on March 6, after having treatment at the DRI following a fall at the couple’s home in Askern. She also had lung problems when she arrived at the DRI.

She went back to the DRI for more treatment in mid April, where she was tested on admission and found to have Covid. She died in the hospital with the virus.

Mr Mitchell only found out that 22 of the ward’s 56 staff had tested positive for the virus when he read it in the Doncaster Free Press.

He said: “The nurses were fantastic on the ward.

“But after they went into lockdown, I rang three times a day. I don’t think she was tested for Covid on Hawthorn, because she would have told me. And I noticed when she started with an unusual cough there. I think she caught it there.

“We thought she was in the safest place possible, and she was not. That is the most upsetting thing. They were careful in that we could only see her through glass at the window, but we didn’t know nurses were affected. She was there to get back on her feet and walking. She’d been hoping to get home soon.

“After she died I picked up her belongings in a bag. They just handed them to me. Should I have been socially distanced then?

“How many patients have been affected by this?”

Anne, aged 72, was well known in the village, but did not get out of the house much because she had suffered arthritis. She was well known for helping people with their problems, said Clive aged 73, a former British Gas worker.

One member of staff on the ward, who asked not to be named, told the Free Press people were not tested unless they showed symptoms, therefore patients were put in bays and treated as 'non barrier'. They said they were concerned that this put staff and other patients at risk.

But the Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust (RDaSH) this week defended its arrangements, stressing staff have been given detailed advice on how to wear personal protective equipment properly and how to put on and take off their uniforms and clean them; there were information posters on the ward reminding them about safety procedures; and hygiene and social distancing advice had been given.

When a member of staff reports Coronavirus symptoms they are sent home to be isolated for at least seven days and they are tested for the virus. Patients admitted to the ward are placed in isolation until they have been tested for the virus. When a patient is discharged, their bed and surrounding area is thoroughly cleaned.

The ward is thoroughly cleaned and disinfected twice a day and working surfaces are routinely cleaned with bacterial wipes many times during a shift.

Nette Carder, interim chief operating officer at RDaSH, said said the trust wanted express its heartfelt sympathies to Mrs Mitchell’s family.

She said: “We constantly strive to try and provide the safest care possible for all our patients.

“I would ask that the family please contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service on 0800 015 4334 so that we can thoroughly investigate the circumstances surrounding the care of this patient.

“I want to offer our reassurances that we follow national guidance for the testing of all our patients who are admitted and/ or discharged from our wards for Covid-19.

“If any patients or their loved ones have any questions, I would encourage them to contact us.”