Filipino nurse, 41, died of Covid after she was coughed on by a resident at a care home

A ‘beloved’ Filipino nurse died of Covid just days after being coughed up by a care home resident, an inquest has learned.

Leilani Medel, 41, worked the night shift for a colleague at the Anwen Care Home in Bridgend, South Wales, during the first wave of the pandemic in March 2020.

A child’s mother was not required to wear personal protective equipment while treating a patient with lung problems and regular respiratory infections because she was not believed to have Covid, the inquest was told.

There was no testing regimen in care homes at the time and the patient had been diagnosed over the phone by a GP.

But within days of being coughed up by the patient, Ms Medel fell ill with Covid and on March 31 she was hospitalized with a high fever. She was put on a ventilator, but died of the virus on April 9.

Mrs Medel (pictured with her husband Johnny) She was concerned about working as a substitute at Anwen Care Home in Bridgend, South Wales due to the number of Covid cases there

An inquest into her death revealed that Ms Medel was concerned about going on standby because of the coronavirus cases at the home, where she had not worked in more than five years.

In total, the nurse cared for two patients with coronavirus symptoms in close contact while wearing personal protective equipment, and two patients with suspected respiratory infections without protective clothing, reports the BBC.

One of those patients was subsequently hospitalized, where they tested positive for Covid-19 and later died.

Clinical Director Janet Caffrey, who is now the home’s manager, said she later noticed Ms Medel complaining of coughing.

She said personal protective equipment was not used because the resident had lung problems and frequent respiratory infections, and testing was not available in care homes.

Ms Caffery said: ‘We followed our advice from Public Health Wales, any government statements.’

The inquest revealed that Ms Medel was admitted to the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend on 31 March 2020 with a high fever. She was put on a ventilator, but her condition worsened and she died on April 9.

Her husband Johnny Medel said she loved her job and described her as a beloved wife and mother to their daughter.

He said, “What I liked about Leilani, apart from her beauty, was her innocence and sincerity.

“If she cared for someone, it would be sincere. She mainly worked with the elderly and I could see how much she enjoyed her job. I was so proud of her and what she had achieved.’

The inquest revealed that Ms. Medel, who was born in Santiago in the Philippines, had a happy family life and was excited about the future.

Mr Medel added: ‘I can’t figure out why it had to end, Leilani was our luck.

“I hope she will be remembered as a nurse who loved to take care of people.”

The inquest revealed that Ms Medel was admitted to Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend with a high fever on 31 March 2020

The inquest revealed that Ms. Medel (pictured) also treated two other sick residents, but personal protective equipment was not required as they had suspected respiratory infections. One of those patients was subsequently hospitalized where they tested positive for Covid-19 and later died

Mrs Medel’s husband, Johnny Medel Jnr, and his daughter Carmina Medel at their home in Bridgend, South Wales

The judicial inquiry in Pontypridd continues.

Between March 9 and December 28 last year, 883 health and social workers died from Covid contracted while caring for infected patients in hospitals and care homes, according to the Office for National Statistics.

An inexplicably large portion were nurses and healthcare workers from the Philippines who uprooted their lives to work for the NHS.

In March last year, Professor Tim Cook, a critical care consultant, and Dr Simon Lennane, a GP in Herefordshire, began analyzing the deaths of frontline workers reported in newspapers and on social media.

They found that of the 106 health and social care workers who had died through April 22, 63 percent were from non-white ethnic groups.

And 19 came from the Philippines – more than from the next five countries combined. That’s 18 per cent of deaths, despite Filipinos making up just 1.5 per cent of NHS staff.

Dr. Lennane, a general practitioner for almost 30 years, found himself ‘almost in tears’ when he discovered their stories.

“They were people who had left their own families in the Philippines to work for our NHS, often putting their patients above themselves,” he previously told the Daily Mail.