A doctor who spent months away from his wife and four young children, Doctor Irfan Halim, working on Covid wards has lost his own battle to the virus.

The respected surgeon was admitted to hospital after collapsing during a shift, according to his family.

The married 45-year-old, whose children are under the age of 12, was described as ‘ten men in one body’ by his heartbroken wife.

At the height of the first wave of the pandemic, Dr. Halim spent four months isolated from his family while he worked on the frontline battling the disease.

His wife wrote on a fundraising page that he had spent the last two years saving the lives of those with Covid-19 and that she believes he caught the virus at work.

He first fell ill himself on September 10 and spent nine weeks in intensive care before dying last weekend. metro.co.uk reports

The Swindon-based doctor ‘fought hard to be with his children every day’ while on a ventilator but he couldn’t be saved.

His wife Saila said: ‘My beloved Irfan passed away on the Sunday, November 14 at 7.51pm peacefully whilst I held him in my arms whispering prayers and love into his ears along with his brother and sister surrounded by his beautiful friends.’

Dr Halim was treated in Swindon Hospital intensive care unit for two weeks before being transferred to The Royal Brompton Hospital in London to receive help breathing.

In a heart-breaking post on social media, Mrs Halim said: ‘Irfan you gave me fifteen magical years as your wife, four beautiful children, wonderful memories that will last me until my remaining days in this world.

‘You gave 25 dedicated years service to the NHS working as a Consultant General Surgeon.

‘Irfan, you were not only my best friend but a best friend to all our children and so many others.’

A colleague said: ‘Being a fighter, he never gave up. He kept believing he would recover.’