Remembering NHS staff who died after contracting coronavirus

At least 211 frontline health and care workers have been identified after dying with coronavirus in England since the start of the pandemic.

The figure is likely to be lower than the true number of workers who have died, as the names of some victims will not yet be in the public domain.

Barclay Mason, senior charge nurse

Barclay Mason, 56, was a senior charge nurse at The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust (PAHT) in Harlow in Essex for more than 20 years.

Mr Mason, who was originally from New Zealand, was treated for coronavirus at the hospital where he worked.

His family and close friends said in a statement: “The sadness we feel is more than words can express.

“The most amazing man in our life, father to our children, has died.”

Neil Ruch, senior paramedic

Neil Ruch

Neil Ruch was “warm”, “highly respected” and had worked for the East of England Ambulance Service since 2013.

He died on May 18 having been hospitalised with Covid-19 in April, and a classroom at health and safety training centre Essex Medical Training is to be named in his honour.

Andrew Ekene Nwankwo, nurse

Andrew Ekene Nwankwo

Andrew Ekene Nwankwo, who worked as a locum nurse at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford, Essex, died with coronavirus on May 16 aged 46.

Kamlesh Kumar Masson, doctor

Kamlesh Kumar Masson

Dr Masson, who died on April 16 aged 78, had worked in the NHS for 47 years. He founded the Milton Road Surgery in Grays, Essex, in 1985 and worked there until 2017, when he moved on to locum work.

Lynsay Coventry, midwife

Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, Essex, announced the death of the 54-year-old – the first involving a serving NHS midwife after testing positive for the virus – on April 5.

Dr Habib Zaidi, doctor

Dr Habib Zaidi

The GP in Leigh-on-Sea died in intensive care at Southend Hospital, Essex, on March 25, aged 76.