Doncaster man with coronavirus saw 'conveyor belt of stretchers' on isolation ward

Chris Cuthbert, aged 47, saw people with serious lung conditions being treated by medics in aprons, gloves and masks in an ‘airlocked’ high dependency ward at Doncaster Royal Infirmary.

Asthma sufferer Chris, aged 47, from Wadworth, was taken to hospital by ambulance after calling 111.

Struggling to breathe and speaking a few words at a time, he said: “I was taken to the high dependency ward and everything was on lockdown.

“It was the longest day of my life - the isolation ward was a harrowing, rapid conveyor belt of stretchers going past, most of them elderly people.

“Staff were wearing aprons, gloves, and masks and would immediately take them off and dispose of them after leaving the air-locked room I was put in.”

There were two other people on the isolation ward with him when he arrived in the morning but by the time he was discharged in the evening, there were four, he added.

“They tested me for everything but the virus - they took a lot of blood tests and did an x-ray,” he continued.

“They were not testing anyone for the virus unless they needed a ventilator but the doctor told me that I had it.”

Chris has acute asthma which he says only flares up every two or three years.

He said: “There were people in there with serious lung conditions, it was awful to see.

“I only have mild asthma and this has hit me like a freight train - I feel lucky that I don’t have any underlying health conditions that would make this life-threatening.”

And he had this message for people: “Please take this seriously, you don’t want to catch this - I’m suffering like this and I’m in only my forties.

“I will fight through this but many elderly won’t. If you ignore the government advice you could be infecting a lot of people.”

Chris was discharged after a day because he didn’t need a ventilator. Happy to be home, he now fears his partner and son are showing symptoms.