Hospital porter at University Hospital Southampton dies after testing positive for coronavirus

Mike Brown had worked for 20 years for University Hospital Southampton (UHS) before his death in the early hours of Wednesday.

A spokesman for the NHS trust said that Thursday's #ClapForCarers outside Southampton General Hospital would be held in honour of the 61-year-old.

He said: ‘University Hospital Southampton has today confirmed the death of a member of staff, Mike Brown, aged 61, who had tested positive for coronavirus on admission to Southampton General Hospital.

‘Mike, a linen porter who had been with the organisation for 20 years, had an underlying health condition and sadly passed away after receiving treatment in our critical care unit in the early hours of yesterday morning.’

Paula Head, chief executive of UHS, said: ‘Mike had been with our hospital for 20 years and played a significant role supporting services that enable patients to receive great care and experiences.

‘He was well-recognised and popular with so many staff, once nominated by colleagues for a Hospital Heroes award for always going above and beyond and he often shared his good sense of humour with everyone around.

‘Our thoughts are with Mike's partner, Sandy, and his family and he will remain fondly in our thoughts, particularly those of his close colleagues and the staff he worked with on the wards regularly.’

A message from the Editor

Thank you for reading this story on portsmouth.co.uk. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to portsmouth.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit our Subscription page now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.