Coronavirus: Hawking's family donate ventilator to hospital

Stephen Hawking's personal ventilator has been donated to the hospital where he was often treated to help patients diagnosed with coronavirus.

The physicist, who had motor neurone disease, died in 2018, aged 76.

His family donated the medical equipment he bought himself to the Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge.

Prof Hawking's daughter Lucy said the hospital was "incredibly important" to her father and Dr Mike Davies said staff were "so grateful" to the family.

Ms Hawking said her father received "brilliant, dedicated and compassionate" medical care from both Royal Papworth and Addenbrooke's hospitals in Cambridge.

She said the family got in touch with some "old friends" at Royal Papworth, where her father was a ventilated patient, to ask if they could help.

"After our father passed away, we returned all the medical equipment he used that belonged to the NHS but there were some items which he bought for himself.

"We are now passing them to the NHS in the hope they will help in the fight against Covid-19," she said.

The Royal Papworth Hospital has expanded its critical care department to more than double its size due to the increasing number of coronavirus admissions.

It has received additional supplies of ventilators from the NHS but - after a check by the hospital's clinical engineering team - has added the ventilator donated by the Hawking family to its fleet.

Dr Mike Davies, clinical director for respiratory medicine at Papworth, said: "It was lovely to hear from the Hawking family again and we are so grateful for them for donating this equipment.

"We are now extremely busy caring for patients who are critically ill with Covid-19 and the support we are receiving from patients, their families and the local community means a great deal."

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