Tributes have been paid to an 84-year-old healthcare assistant who died from coronavirus 10 days after her last shift, as the hospital trust that employed her said it was reviewing its approach to allowing staff at a higher risk from the virus to continue working. Margaret Tapley died in the early hours of Sunday at Great Western hospital in Swindon. The last of her regular night shifts was on 10 April on Linfoot ward at Witney community hospital in Oxfordshire. Oxford Health NHS foundation trust said she “embodied all that is best in those who work for the NHS”. The trust’s chief executive, Stuart Bell, described her as “a legend on the ward, and more widely throughout the whole hospital”, and said it was remarkable that she had stayed on to support her colleagues for so many years. “Margaret knew coronavirus posed a risk, and if she had wished she would have been perfectly justified in self-isolating, but she wanted to continue in her role, doing the job she loved,” Bell said. Asked later by the Guardian about its processes in relation to staff such as Tapley, the trust issued a statement in which it said it had discussed risks with any staff member who might be at particular risk from coronavirus because of their age or other vulnerabilities, to ensure they knew they had the option to self-isolate away from work. It said that if someone still wanted to continue working, it would undertake an assessment to help them do so as safely as possible and to ensure they were suitably supported and had the right protective equipment. The trust added: “We know that there is a difficult balance to be struck here and we are looking closely at whether that is something we can or should continue to do.” Tapley’s grandson Tom Wood, a nurse, paid tribute to her in a Facebook post. “This phenomenal, committed, kind-hearted fighter was my grandmother and I am so hugely proud of her,” he wrote. “She was my inspiration and a huge reason as to why I am a nurse today. She took huge pride in her work but was so humble. She embodied the nursing spirit. For anyone who worked with her or knew her, that spirit that we all saw and felt lives on in us.” Among other health workers who were the subject of tributes after succumbing to Covid-19 was Patrick McManus, a nurse in Stafford described as an “exceptional leader”. Tracy Bullock, the chief executive of University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS trust, said McManus was an “extremely well-liked and valued member” of the nursing team at County hospital in Stafford. She said: “He had been a nurse for more than 40 years and had worked at North Staffordshire Royal Infirmary prior to working in Stafford, where he had been for about 10 years.” Chrissie Emerson, a healthcare assistant at Queen Elizabeth hospital in King’s Lynn, was described on Monday as a “valued colleague” as well as a “much-loved wife” and “cherished mother and grandmother”. Northampton general hospital NHS trust said Joanna Klenczon, 34, a domestic supervisor, “will be missed by everyone who knew or worked with her”.