NHS staff at Queen’s Hospital, Romford, clap and cheer as Dagenham grandad beats coronavirus

Konda Mbwaki, a 60-year-old driver for Ford, was discharged almost three weeks after he was first taken to intensive care at King George Hospital in Goodmayes.

A video posted to Twitter by a senior nurse at Queen’s Hospital in Romford – where Konda was sent once out of intensive care – shows doctors clapping for him as his wheelchair is pushed through the ward.

Konda, who has four children and six grandchildren, praised the staff at both hospitals and said he was excited to return home to his wife in Dagenham.

He said: “They looked after me really well and I’m very happy. Whenever I didn’t understand anything, they were there to explain it to me.

“Whenever I called them, they came to help me.

“Thank you to all the nurses and everyone who was there to support me, god bless you all.

“I am so lucky to be going home and I’m really excited to see my wife, and my daughter Sephora, the last of my kids who lives at home.

“I video-called my wife in hospital, but I wasn’t able to see her so it’ll be really nice to get home and enjoy some home comforts.”

His wife Yoko Vumeri called the ambulance to their home on March 28 when Konda began struggling to breathe. Paramedics immediately noticed symptoms of the virus.

He was put on a ventilator and spent more than a week in intensive care at King George, Barley Lane, until he was healthy enough to be transferred to Queen’s Hospital to recover.

Senior Queen’s Hospital nurse Sarah Neilson said: “Konda was the first Covid-19 patient to come to us from intensive care and he was still very poorly at first.

“To see him doing so much better and going home is lovely and he can continue to rest and recuperate at home.”

Konda added a message for those social distancing at home, saying: “Be careful – this virus exists and I know the pain it can cause.

“Don’t play the game, wash your hands and follow all the guidance and medical advice.”