Moment man who was left in coma from Covid is reunited with Frimley Park doctors who saved his life

  • Watch the full reunion here

One of the first Covid-19 patients to be treated in Surrey has been reunited with the frontline staff who saved his life.

Anwar Chaudhri was admitted to the intensive care unit at Frimley Park Hospital in Camberley in 2020.

In an emotional reunion he said he would not be here today without the work of the doctor and nurses there.

Four years since the start of the pandemic, staff have described how care on the wards had to be completely transformed - and say we must not forget the unity and fortitude shown during those unprecented times.

  • Watch the full report from ITV Meridian's Derek Johnson

Anwar was on a ventilator for about 30 days before he was given a tracheostomy.

"It was a very, very tough time at that time, but because when I woke up, I'd slept through most of it, because I was in a coma," Anwar said.

"But since I woke up, it's just been positive how Subodh and all his team looked after me, the nurses, the doctors.

"It was such good care - I couldn't ask for more, and this is the reason why I'm standing here today."

Anwar spent 30 days on a ventilator. Credit: ITV Meridian

Asked about how it feels to meet Anwar again, Dr Subodh Tote, head of intensive care at Frimley Park Hospital said: "It's incredible."

Speaking directly to Anwar, he added: "It's a real uplifting thing for us, really, because we've had to deal with so much, and what you actually represent to us is not just one patient.

"You represent the hundreds and the thousands of patients all of us treated during that time, and what a difference it made.

"It makes it worthwhile what we did.

"There's a lot that didn't make it, but you remind us of everything that we did and why we did it."

  • Anwar Chaudhri said he knows how close he came to death.

"I count my days every day," Anwar said.

"I'm thankful every day for how much you looked after me - that's why I'm standing here today.

"When I woke up, I knew how close I came to death.

"Being 30 days in a coma, I lost a lot of weight. I'll put it back on because I love food, but I lost a lot of weight.

"It was like three stone almost in that sort of two months I was here, and when I woke up, it was really, really tough.

"But no one left me, so I'm very, very thankful for that."

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