A Northwick Park A&E nurse received a rapturous cheer from colleagues as she left the hospital after one month fighting the coronavirus infection.
Senior nurse Alicia Borja made an emotional exit from Northwick Park Hospital, in Watford Road, on Thursday (April 16) after beating Covid-19.
Colleagues from the A&E and other departments lined the corridors to cheer Alicia on her way home.
“I just want to thank my colleagues, I’ve got so much love for them,” she said.
“They are such a fantastic team. I haven’t been able to see my daughters for a month so can’t wait to get home.”
Alicia, 63, spent a month battling the virus and was able to keep in contact with family and colleagues through social media.
“It’s been really tough,” she said.
“I stopped watching the news because I wanted to focus on being positive and put all my effort into getting home.”
London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust (LNWUH) was among the first hospitals to treat Covid-19 patients because of the size and expertise of its infectious diseases team.
At present, more than 250 people are being treated across LNWUH’s three hospitals – Northwick Park, St Marks and Ealing hospitals.
The team’s first Covid-19 admission was on March 4 and since then, the trust’s hospitals have reconfigured their services, wards and staff on an unprecedented scale.
By Tuesday it was announced by NHS England that 327 people have died at LNWUH hospitals.
However 523 Covid-19 patients have been successfully discharged – including Alicia.
She added: “I’m a nurse but it’s still scary to go through something like this.
“I was in tears when I was discharged because so many colleagues lined the corridors to wish me well. They are my second family.”
Chris Bown, chief executive of LNWH, said: “We wish Alicia and her family all the best.
“We all know this is going to be a long struggle but staff across the NHS are giving it there all.
“The number of people who turned up to cheer Alicia out of hospital was touching and shows how much staff care about their colleagues.”
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