First patient with COVID-19 who needed ICU treatment at Ysbyty Gwynedd discharged

Clapping and cheering echoed in the corridors of Ysbyty Gwynedd this week as the first patient to have needed intensive care treatment was allowed to go home.

Brian Davies made an emotional exit from the hospital on Monday, 20 April after beating COVID-19.

Staff from the COVID Ward, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and Moelwyn Ward lined the corridors to cheer Brian on his way home.

The 69-year-old from Holyhead was admitted onto the COVID Ward in the hospital on 30 March. As his condition deteriorated he was moved to the ICU where he was ventilated for almost two weeks.

He said: “Before I went into hospital I wasn’t feeling myself, I had pulled a muscle in my back so I put it down to that.

“I never would have thought I had contracted Coronavirus, it was only when my son said I needed to go to hospital I thought it may be something serious.

“I don’t really remember much from my time in hospital, the last thing I remember was coming over the Menai Bridge in an ambulance.”

Brian’s son, Aron Davies, said when he received the news his father was on the ICU he prepared himself for the worst.

“The first few days my Dad was in intensive care it was touch and go, and it was really hard as obviously I couldn’t be with him but the staff kept me up to date all the time on his condition.

“As the days passed he got stronger and stronger and he was eventually discharged to Moelwyn Ward on 15 April which was a huge relief,” he said.

Brian, who works as a taxi driver, is now planning to organise a fundraiser in the near future to thank the staff who cared for him whilst in hospital.

He said: “I will be forever grateful to the staff at Ysbyty Gwynedd, they have saved my life.

“They were all absolutely unbelievable, so caring - they treated me like a super star!

“When I’m back on my feet I would really like to organise a fundraiser so I can give back and thank them for all they are doing, they really are amazing people.”

Dr Karen Mottart, Consultant Anaesthetist and Ysbyty Gwynedd’s Medical Director, said: “We are delighted to see Brian return home today and wish him all the best in his continued recovery.

“Our doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals, are working extremely hard to ensure all our patients receive the best possible care and I’d like to thank them all for their efforts.”