NHS worker caught Covid from patient, inquest hears

An ambulance worker who died from Covid-19 caught the virus from a patient, an inquest has heard.

Alan Haigh, 59, from Cwmduad, Carmarthenshire died in Glangwili Hospital on 9 February 2021.

His wife, Sian Haigh, said her husband took extra measures to protect himself and his family during the pandemic.

The hearing at Llanelli Town Hall was told that Mr Haigh showered before going home and washed his uniform separately to his family’s clothes.

Sian Haigh suffered from asthma and her vulnerable mother lived next door.

Mrs Haigh told the inquest that her husband was highly trained and would wear any form of personal protective equipment (PPE) given to him.

Mrs Haigh said that he lived at home and they wore masks when they went out together.

“He brought his washing home, put it in the machine. He wouldn’t let me touch it,” she said.

Mrs Haigh noticed that her husband was beginning to show symptoms of Covid-19 on 3 November 2020.

He started to show signs of exhaustion following a busy weekend shift and developed a slight cough, the inquest heard.

His cough became worse but he initially did not want an ambulance called.

However, he was admitted to hospital on 7 December 2020, where he spent more than two months before his death.

Mr Haigh, who was originally from Farnborough, Hampshire, was an emergency medical technician with 22 years’ service.

He first joined the ambulance service in 1998 and worked for the non-emergency patient transport service in New Quay and Lampeter.

The football fan and car enthusiast had become a grandfather just four months before his death, and was described by colleagues as a “full of life character who loved to chat”.

He was the third ambulance worker to die from Covid-19 in Wales, after the deaths of call handler Paul Teesdale and paramedic Gerallt Davies.

The inquest continues.