Ray Lever, 62, who was a domestic services assistant at the Northern General Hospital, sadly died on May 1.

A father-of-three and a grandfather, he was well known among colleagues at the hospital for his ‘cheery manner’ and worked in patient areas before being transferred to non-patient areas early on in the Covid-19 outbreak.

Ray’s daughters Rachel, Kathryn, and Rebecca said: “Dad was the perfect dad and grandad and nothing was ever too much trouble for him if it meant helping someone else. He was always cheerful and loved a laugh and joke.

Ray Lever's daughters have paid tribute to 'the perfect dad'

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“Our world will never be the same but we are so grateful for the unbelievable care he received from the teams at Sheffield Hospitals for his current illness and on previous occasions.

"Nothing was too much trouble and they did everything they could including answering all our questions, keeping us updated about dad and providing protective clothing and support so that one of us could be with dad until the very end. This was a huge comfort to us.”

Ray’s daughters said “incredible” hospital staff even fulfilled his last request to have a drink of beer by sending someone out to get a bottle of his favourite tipple.

Tributes have been paid to Ray Lever, who died after contracting coronavirus.

Kirsten Major, chief executive at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “We had hoped the day when we lost a colleague to this awful virus would never come and so I was heartbroken to learn that Ray passed away.

“Ray had dedicated a number of years of his life to the NHS here in Sheffield and his family can be justifiably proud that he made a difference to people’s lives each and every single day. He was a genuinely, lovely, kind man who put others before himself in his personal and work life and we were very fortunate to have someone like him as part of our team.

Ms Major said Ray was a “credit to the NHS” and the trust would be offering his family and colleagues support following his death.

Andrew Jones, facilities director at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, added: “We are devastated to have lost Ray from our facilities team and our thoughts are with his family at this terrible time.

“Since we heard the news, colleagues have been telling me stories about Ray and his commitment to the job and pride in working in the NHS which was clearly exemplary.

“He was always showing pictures of his family and particularly his grandchildren who he doted on. It is so very sad for everyone who had the privilege to know and work with Ray.”

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Tributes paid to 'perfect dad' and NHS worker who lost battle with coronavirus