A PORTER who spent five days on a ventilator after contracting COVID-19 has returned to work.

David Morgan-Jones, from Old Colwyn, has now returned to work at Glan Clwyd Hospital and has thanked the medical staff and his colleagues for their care and support.

The 56-year-old suddenly fell ill with COVID-19 during April and required specialist treatment in his own hospital’s Intensive Care unit.

He said: “I returned to work at the start of September and it’s so good to be back with the team. I am taking things slowly and working shorter days so I can ease myself back into work.

“I have been overwhelmed with the support I have received from my colleagues, everyone has been so supportive.

“I have also been up to see the staff on the Intensive Care Unit and the ward staff who looked after me when I was so unwell, they were so caring and made me feel safe, I fully trusted them.

“They really are amazing and saved my life – I can never thank them enough.”

Critical Care Sister, Lynne Slater, said the team were delighted to see David doing so well.

She said: “David experienced a very tough journey on the road to recovery from COVID-19.

“It was wonderful to see David recently and I was shocked to see how well he was doing, so soon, after such a difficult time.

“David gave us incredible feedback which makes me feel very proud of the team. It has been a challenging time, but we really do have an amazing team here in Critical Care and we are truly grateful to those staff who were redeployed from other areas in the hospital who have been supporting us.”

Greg Bloor, Hotel Services Manager at Glan Clwyd Hospital, added: “We are really pleased to have David back at work with the team. We value all our staff who are continuing to work hard during these ongoing challenging times.”

David is now urging the public to continue to follow government guidelines to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“I’ve experienced how ill you can become from COVID-19 and the impact it had on my family. It is really important everyone continues to follow the guidelines so we can work together to reduce the spread of the virus in North Wales,” he added.