‘It’s not the cancer that’s killing me, it’s Covid’ - daughter of NI man who died after testing positive for COVID-19 speaks out

John Fleming, who was a patient in a haemotology ward, passed away in Craigavon Area Hospital on Thursday and his daughter Yvonne said her father told her to tell his story as he didn’t want anyone else to go through what he was forced to endure these last few days.

“He fought really strong and hard, he gave it everything but when I went into see him he said, ‘I didn’t bargain for this, I don’t want to die, I’m afraid of dying. It’s not the cancer that’s killing me, it’s Covid’,” Yvonne told the BBC.

“He asked me to tell his story because he doesn’t want another family to go through what we have been through.

“He had bone cancer, the prognosis was ten years he could live with this cancer, Covid has now robbed us of that.

“What I would like to know and what my mother would like to know is how the virus got through the hospital’s defences into his ward. We can’t get our head round it.”

Southern Trust Medical Director Maria O’Kane said a review is being undertaken to investigate how the virus got into the hospital.

“I can completely understand what her concern is in relation to this, I can’t say it strongly enough, we are extremely sorry that this has happened,” she said.

On Friday, the Southern Health and Social Care Trust confirmed that two patients linked with the haemotology ward, had died after testing positive for COVID-19 within the last 48 hours.

“We are profoundly sorry about these deaths and extend our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of those who have passed away,” said a spokesperson for the trust.

“A third patient who had been treated on the haematology ward was discharged home and has since sadly passed away with a COVID-19 positive diagnosis, but this was not the primary cause of death.”

The total number of people to die after testing positive for COVID-19 in Northern Ireland is 564 according to the Department of Health.