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HCA with three young children dies from COVID-19

Rachel Trott had started her first NHS job only three months earlier at a hospital in Kent
Picture of healthcare assistant Rachel Trott, who has died after testing positive for COVID-19

Rachel Trott had started her first NHS job only three months earlier at a hospital in Kent

Picture of healthcare assistant Rachel Trott, who has died after testing positive for COVID-19
Rachel Trott

A healthcare assistant (HCA) who ‘always put other people first’ has died after testing positive for COVID-19.

Rachel Trott died on New Year’s Eve, East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust said.

First role in the NHS

Ms Trott had been an HCA for only three months. Her job at William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, Kent, was her first in the NHS.

She is survived by her partner Finn Carmody and their three young children – Charlie, 9, Lily, 6, and Willow, 20 months.

In a statement released by the trust, her partner Mr Carmody said: ‘She had always wanted to work for the NHS. It was in her family – her grandad was a paramedic and her aunt is a district nurse. She loved it, she soaked it all in and she made friends there very quickly.

‘Rachel was an amazing person who would do anything for anyone and always put other people first.’

‘Friendly and reassuring nature made her an instant hit with patients and staff’

Trust chief executive Susan Acott said: ‘Rachel’s commitment to her role was clear, and her friendly and reassuring nature made her an instant hit with patients as well as staff. We all feel her loss deeply.’

A fundraising web page has been set up for Mr Carmody and the children. So far more than £4,000 of the £5,000 target has been raised. The page is due to close on 1 February.

Nursing Standard believes Ms Trott is the 97th member of the nursing community in the UK to have died in the COVID-19 pandemic.


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Raising money for Rachel’s children


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