Stafford hospital nurse who died of Covid-19 to be honoured in home area
A frontline Staffordshire nurse who died from coronavirus is set to be posthumously honoured in his native home.
Pat McManus, who was a nurse for more than 40 years, worked at Stafford's County Hospital and is to be given the Freedom of the Borough in his home province in Northern Ireland.
He died aged 60 at the Royal Stoke University Hospital in April 2020.
Mr McManus worked at Northwick Park Hospital, the Central Middlesex Hospital and the North Staffordshire Royal Infirmary in Stoke-on-Trent before joining the Stafford Hospital in the same city.
Twenty two members of Mr McManus' family are expected to attend a mayoral reception on February 28 after the award was approved by Derry City and Strabane District Council.
Councillor Ruairi McHugh said: “I think it is the least we, as a council, can afford Mr McManus who so selflessly put himself in the front line and stayed true to his hippocratic oath when, despite his own medical condition, he put his life on the line to protect others.”
Speaking of his delight, SDLP councillor Steven Edward added: “Pat gave his life to help others and it is only right his contribution is acknowledged locally especially given that his home town is Strabane.”
DUP Alderman Hilary McClintock spoke of the importance of marking this "very special occasion" for Mr McManus' family adding: “It also brings some recognition to all those who have been on the front line during the pandemic.”
By Local Democracy Reporter Gillian Anderson
