Hospital porter died with Covid after being approached by patient who claimed to have virus

A hospital porter from Llanrumney, Cardiff, who died with Covid-19 said, shortly before testing positive, he had been approached by a patient who claimed they had the virus.

Andrew Woolhouse, 55, died at the University Hospital of Wales (UHW) in Cardiff on January 23 having been admitted there nearly a month earlier after testing positive for coronavirus.

An inquest into his death at Pontypridd Coroners' Court on Monday heard from Mr Woolhouse's wife.

She said her husband had mentioned an incident to her a few weeks before he tested positive, in which a patient had approached him at work and told him, "I have Covid", before laughing at him.

Mr Woolhouse worked as a porter at University Hospital Llandough in Cardiff for five years before becoming unwell with a hernia in early 2020 and taking a leave of absence.As part of a phased return to work, he had started working on the reception desk at the hospital in October last year where he carried out “light duties”.However on December 18, a day after he had gone on annual leave, Mr Woolhouse began to feel unwell. He took a PCR test and positive result was returned a few days later. He had received the first dose of his Covid vaccine just a week prior.

Mr Woolhouse's health continued to decline and he was then admitted to hospital with breathing difficulties on December 27 2020. He was later transferred to intensive care, put on a ventilator and underwent surgery to remove part of his bowel due to a loss of oxygen supply to that part of his body.

However on January 23 the father-of-two was moved onto palliative care and died at 11:40pm that evening.

Tributes were paid to the hospital worker following his death, with the chief executive of Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, Len Richards, describing him as "hardworking and well-respected".

The inquest heard a statement submitted to the coroner from Mrs Woolhouse. She said her husband "could not believe he had tested positive" for the virus and that he had used PPE at work, including gloves, aprons, face masks and hand sanitiser.However, she also said that he had mentioned an incident to her a few weeks before he tested positive, in which a patient from the mental health ward at the hospital had approached him and told him "I have Covid", before laughing at him.

Other statements submitted by Mr Woolhouse's colleagues said that he "was always smiling" and would be "greatly missed".

Coroner Rachel Knight extended her condolences to Mr Woolhouse's family and recorded a conclusion of death by natural causes.

"Mr Woolhouse was risk-assessed and preventative measures were put in place," she said.

"There is insufficient evidence to determine the cause of the infection but my conclusion is covered by the medical cause of death."