MP returns to work after 'life-threatening' illness

Sarah Gibson was treated at the Royal United Hospital in Bath for weeks

An MP who was in intensive care after a viral infection to her heart says she will "never underestimate the flu" on her return to work.

Chippenham MP Sarah Gibson said staff were not sure if she would pull through when she spent two weeks in the Royal United Hospital in Bath over Christmas last year.

She has been slowly recovering ever since and returned to working in Westminster this week.

"When I got the flu I contracted pericarditis which can be life-threatening and in my case, probably was," she said.

Ms Gibson has been working on and off remotely from home and is now on track for a phased return to work in London.

She described her recovery back to work as a "slow heave".

"There were a couple of days while I was in the ICU was a little worried, as were my family, that I wasn't going to return to do anything at all," she said.

"It's nice to be back, it's nice to be recovering."

Parliamentary authorities have given the MP, who was took the Chippenham seat off the Conservative Party in the general election last year, a temporary office close to the chamber.

She said: "It may look like a little like a cupboard but it's about the same size as the other one, and a hell of a lot closer than where we were before.

"That makes life easier for me at the moment where I can't walk very far.

"The care I received was absolutely incredible. They were not only amazingly competent but I felt loved and cared for the whole time. I've got enormous amount of respect for the way they looked after me."

She added hospital staff were "not only amazingly competent but I felt loved and cared for" during her stay.