Tributes paid to ‘gentle’ healthcare assistant who died with Covid-19

A “quiet and gentle” healthcare assistant who contracted coronavirus has died in the hospital where he worked.

Carlos Sia, who worked for the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, died on Friday May 15 after spending several weeks in intensive care.

The “much-loved” 62-year-old had worked for the trust for five years.

In a letter to staff, chief executive Matthew Hopkins said: “His quiet, gentle and respectful nature, his generosity of spirit, his sense of humour and his calming influence also made him popular with patients.

“We have lost a valued member of our Trust family – and in Carlos’s case, the word ‘family’ has a special relevance as his wife Cindy works on Avon 2 as a healthcare assistant and his daughter Clair is a nurse on our acute stroke unit.

“Cindy and Clair are particularly in our thoughts at this sad time, as are all Carlos’s colleagues who worked alongside him and those who cared for him through his illness.”

Staff have been offered specialist support from the trust.

Mr Hopkins added: “We still have some way to go before this current outbreak is behind us, and I would again like to thank you all for the extraordinary efforts you are making for our patients.”

A fundraiser, set up in Mr Sia’s memory, describes him as a “truly dedicated NHS hero”.

He has a wife and daughter in the UK, and three sons living in the Philippines.