Healthcare assistant at the Royal Derby Hospital is the latest NHS worker in Midlands to have died with Covid-19

A healthcare assistant at the Royal Derby Hospital is the latest NHS worker to have died after contracting coronavirus.

61-year-old Norman Austria was described as a "loved and respected" colleague who brought a "sense of calm" with him to work.

Mr Austria died earlier today (May 13) after several weeks of battling the disease in hospital.

Mr Austria's wife, Shirley, paid tribute to her husband of 40 years, describing him as a "wonderful husband".

Royal Derby Hospital Credit: BPM Media

Mr Austria is the fourth staff member to have died from Covid-19, following the deaths of

  • Amged El-Hawrani, an ear, nose and throat consultant. The 55-year-old died at the Glenfield Hospital in Leicester on 28 March.

  • Manjeet Singh Riyat, the first person from the Sikh community to be appointed as an Emergency Medicine Consultant in the UK. He died on 20 April.

  • Eileen Landers, a member of the cleaning team who passed away on 26 April.

Gavin Boyle, chief executive at University Hospitals of Derby and Burton (UHDB), said:

Norman Austria's death comes on a day when Boris Johnson told MPs that 275 healthcare workers had died in the UK from Covid-19 in what he called a "deeply horrifying" toll.