Coronavirus: Family of first NHS surgeon to die from COVID-19 speaks out after his death

The family of the first NHS surgeon to die from coronavirus has questioned whether enough was done to protect him.

Leading organ transplant consultant Dr Adil El Tayar, 64, died on Wednesday having fallen ill a few days earlier.

The Sudanese doctor had been working at Hereford Hospital, which is where his family believe he caught the virus.

His son Osman and daughter Abeer El Tayar, also doctors, said their lives have been completely turned upside down.

Osman El Tayar said: "My dad came here in the early 1990s from Sudan and we were all raised here. We've received so much from this country, but I worry about his final days and wonder if enough was done to protect him.

"I suppose if he was properly protected perhaps this wouldn't have happened."

The father-of-four is believed to be the first working surgeon in the UK to die from COVID-19. He had been working in the Midlands during the week and returning to his family home in west London for the weekend.

Abeer El Tayar said: "I am angry. I feel like he was cheated a couple more years out of his life but at the end of the day it was his time. There was nothing we really could do.

"But you do try to think of things you could have done to help. Sometimes when you sit down you think about whether you could have called the ambulance sooner, or could the doctors have done something else?"

Dr El Tayar graduated from the University of Khartoum in 1982 and had previously worked in Saudi Arabia and Sudan. He had been self-isolating after developing symptoms before he was admitted to hospital on 20 March.

His daughter said: "I loved him so much. I can't put into words how sad our family are. I just wished that we could have taken him to hospital earlier but it wasn't until my dad was short of breath, that's when after calling the ambulance we were taken more seriously.

"But before that when it was just the fever we were told to stay at home. If we could have caught the coronavirus earlier on, maybe this wouldn't have happened."

His son, a doctor at Northwick Park Hospital, said no other medic should sacrifice their life for their job. He said the government needed to ensure those like him working in hospitals have adequate personal protective equipment when doing their job.

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Abeer El Tayar said: "We are all scared. My sister and I are scared for ourselves, our colleagues on the frontline and our patients. I don't think it should be a question that people on the frontline aren't equipped enough to do their job."

Wye Valley NHS Trust Medical Director David Mowbray said: "We are saddened to learn of the death of Adil El Tayar and our thoughts are with his family at this time."

"Adil worked as a locum at Hereford County Hospital. We were fortunate to have someone of his skill and stature working for the Trust and many patients will have benefited from his talent and expertise.

"Colleagues at the hospital have paid tribute to his compassionate and friendly nature and professional demeanour. He will be sadly missed by all who knew and worked with him."