Covid: Fundraiser for Leeds doctor with virus tops £95k

Consultant cardiologist Dr Basem Enany contracted the virus while on leave from York Hospital

A fundraising campaign set up to help the family of a hospital consultant who is in intensive care with coronavirus has raised more than £95,000.

Consultant cardiologist Dr Basem Enany has worked on Covid wards in York Hospital and fell ill last month.

The doctor came to the UK from Egypt to help during the pandemic but developed a rare complication of Covid-19.

The 44-year-old has been diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome, which attacks the nervous system.

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Dr Enany is now paralysed and on a ventilator, unable to move his arms or legs or breathe unassisted, but it is understood his brain is still functional and he can communicate.

Friends launched a GoFundMe campaign to help get legal assistance for him over fears his family may be forced to leave the UK when his contract expires at the end of November.

But the Home Office has said Dr Enany is not under threat of enforcement action and it will be contacting the family and hospital to help.

Dr Enany was working as a locum at York Hospital

The doctor was working as a locum but did not contract the virus at work, as he fell ill while on leave in mid-September.

His wife and four daughters, who live with him in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, are unable to visit.

Dr Sanjay Gupta, who works at York Hospital with Dr Enany, said: "He came to this country to help and now he is in a terrible situation.

"There is a chance that he may be able to regain the ability to breathe without support and gain function of his limbs but there is also a high chance that he may not make it, or be left with permanent disability."

'Heartbroken and helpless'

Writing on his GoFundMe page he added: "What is certain is that he will spend several months in intensive care and will not be able to go back to the profession that he loved so dearly for several months or even years."

Dr Gupta said: "As part of his job, Basem has looked after and saved the lives of several critically ill cardiac patients and is loved and respected by his colleagues and his patients."

"I feel both heartbroken and helpless. Whilst I am worried about Basem, I am equally worried about the future for his wife and daughters."

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