AN NHS employee who chose to continue carrying out his work duties after retirement has sadly died after contracting coronavirus. 

Heartfelt tributes have poured in for David Trower, who continued working in the clerical department of University Hospital Monklands in Airdrie, four years after he was due to retire. 

Staff at NHS Lanarkshire are mourning the loss of their well-loved colleague after he passed away from the virus on March 6. 

Glasgow Times:

Their tributes have described him as a "kind and lovely man" who enjoyed nights out and holidays abroad as they added that he will be sorely missed.

They said: “David will be sadly missed by all his friends and colleagues in the emergency department.

“He was a kind and lovely man and everyone thought very highly of him. We have many happy memories of shifts together, laughs, nights out, and listening to all his stories of his many holidays abroad. We will miss him.”

David started working in NHS Lanarkshire’s medical directorate in 1995 as a clerical officer in the A&E department at University Hospital Monklands - remaining in post until his retirement in 2016.

Underlining his commitment to the NHS, David chose to continue working with his colleagues at Monklands following his retirement through NHS Lanarkshire’s staff bank.

He worked shifts in A&E and provided administrative cover within the main directorate until February.

Glasgow Times:

NHS Lanarkshire's Chief Executive, Heather Knox, added: “On behalf of everyone here, I would like to offer my most sincere condolences to David’s family.

“David was a valued member of staff, a well-respected colleague, both on a personal and professional level, and a dedicated employee of NHS Lanarkshire.

“Given his many years of NHS service, it goes without saying that David devoted his life to providing services to the people of Lanarkshire.”

David is the second NHS Lanarkshire colleague to lose their life to coronavirus, following the death of Kirsty Jones in April 2020.

On behalf of David’s family, his sister, Bernadette White, has provided the following heartfelt tribute.

It reads: "David is a special brother. I say “is” and not “was” because he will always be the best.

"David’s loves were simple - his home, his holidays, his work, and he was very close to my family.

"He had a wicked sense of humour. I remember I was working and I got a message from him while he was on holiday in Bali and it said “please come and get me”. I was worried sick and asked him what was wrong and his reply was that it hadn’t stopped raining since he’d arrived - and he did like the sun!

"The last seven years, I would say, is when David started to live his life, doing the things that made him happy without having to worry about anyone else.

"He was a caring, gentle, loving man, who has left a void that nothing can fill, and myself, my husband Robert and our family have lost a true gentleman."