A senior West Midlands Police officer struck down by CoVID-19 is back working just weeks after the deadly virus came close to taking his life.
Chief Superintendent Phil Dolby spent a fortnight in intensive care having been admitted to Worcester Royal Hospital at the end of March.
Most of that time he was heavily sedated and hooked up to a ventilator as he was unable to breath for himself and oxygen levels in his blood plummeted.
Thankfully his body fought back against the virus and on 21 April he returned home to be with his family.
Phil – who heads up our Criminal Justice Services team – has been recuperating at home, working with a physio to rebuild his strength and latterly getting out on his bike to improve his cardio fitness.
On Monday (8 June) he started his phased return to work – but he’s been warned he risks a ‘red card’ if he tries to take on too much!
Phil explained: “My wife and one work colleague have both been issued with red cards which they will brandish in my direction if they see me overdoing it…and if so it means I have to put the phone down and step away from my laptop.
“The plan is to do four or five hours a day for the first few weeks and then hopefully return to full time. But I’m still shielding for the foreseeable future so like many people across the country I’ll be working remotely.
“On Monday I joined an online leadership meeting with senior officers and caught up with my team on Skype; I got a round of applause which was very touching. I’m still overwhelmed and so thankful for all the support I’ve received.
“I’ve got lots of reading to do and there’s plenty to catch up on: 10 weeks is a long time in policing!”
Dad-of-three Phil is shielding at home most of the time and, with the science still unclear over whether CoVID-19 survivors have immunity against the virus, there is no clear date set for him to physically return to work.
And he’s concerned over misplaced public confidence that the pandemic is fading away.
“There seems to be an air of public confidence that the virus has passed but we need to be cautious as if people get blasé the R number can increase and we’ll see the death rate climbing again.
“I don’t have any lingering health issues as a result of CoVID-19. The virus can cause blood clots so I’m on blood thinning medication but that’s about it. I know I’ve been lucky – but many people haven’t and more than 40,000 have now lost their lives.
“For all I know I may now be immune to the virus having built-up antibodies in my system – but the science is unclear so I can’t take any risks.
“I know how awful this disease…and I would urge others to also be cautious because we’re not through this pandemic yet.”