Coronavirus: Doctor 'kicked out' by Headington landlady

A hospital doctor said he was told to leave his rented room because his landlady was afraid he would bring the coronavirus into her home.

Joseph Alsousou is working between Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre and the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.

He had been lodging at a house in Headington on weekdays since August.

After he was asked to leave the accommodation, the surgeon said he drove three hours back to his family home in Merseyside "almost in tears".

Dr Alsousou said the landlady originally gave him 28 days' notice via email last weekend because she was anxious he might bring the coronavirus into the home, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

On Monday, the 43-year-old tried to reassure her the virus was very low risk to her but when he returned to his room the following evening, she allegedly said she wanted him to leave as soon as he possibly could.

The surgeon added: "At that point, I could not see myself staying in the house.

"I went home because I had nowhere else to stay. I drove all the way back from Oxford to Wirral nearly in tears."

Other members of staff had to help cover some of Dr Alsousou's shifts while he searched for a new place to stay. He has since found lodgings in Horspath.

"The lady I am now renting from said she would rather have a doctor in the house in this situation," he said.

Dr Alsousou's former landlady has spoken under the condition of anonymity, saying she has severe health anxiety and was "under strong recommendation from her doctor not to share work surfaces".

She added: "As we shared a kitchen and a bathroom it wasn't possible for him to remain in the house without it affecting my own health."

A spokesperson for Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: "NHS England and NHS Improvement have established a process for hard-working NHS staff to secure accommodation at hotels within their immediate area, if they have been affected by Covid-19 in some way."

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