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| Ebola nurse working at NHS hospital that saved his life | Ebola nurse working at NHS hospital that saved his life |
| (1 day later) | |
| The first British healthcare worker who caught and survived Ebola is working as an NHS nurse in the hospital that helped save his life. | The first British healthcare worker who caught and survived Ebola is working as an NHS nurse in the hospital that helped save his life. |
| He spoke to the BBC while working nights in A&E at the Royal Free Hospital in north London. | He spoke to the BBC while working nights in A&E at the Royal Free Hospital in north London. |
| In an exclusive interview, Will Pooley said everyone should "honour and remember" the African healthcare staff who fought the disease. | In an exclusive interview, Will Pooley said everyone should "honour and remember" the African healthcare staff who fought the disease. |
| He was flown back to the UK from Sierra Leone in an RAF airlift a year ago. | He was flown back to the UK from Sierra Leone in an RAF airlift a year ago. |
| Mr Pooley, 30, spent a week in a special isolation unit at the Royal Free, where he was treated with the experimental drug ZMapp. | Mr Pooley, 30, spent a week in a special isolation unit at the Royal Free, where he was treated with the experimental drug ZMapp. |
| He recovered quickly and returned to Sierra Leone in October to help efforts to contain the virus, which has claimed more than 11,000 lives in West Africa in the past year. | He recovered quickly and returned to Sierra Leone in October to help efforts to contain the virus, which has claimed more than 11,000 lives in West Africa in the past year. |
| The latest figures from the World Health Organization show there have been just three new Ebola cases in the past week - all from Guinea. | The latest figures from the World Health Organization show there have been just three new Ebola cases in the past week - all from Guinea. |
| Mr Pooley, from Eyke, in Suffolk, has been at the Royal Free for about three months. I accompanied him as he returned to the unit where he began his admission by crawling to his bed through a plastic tunnel. | |
| Two separate rooms each contain a bed surrounded by plastic tents. The unit is, in effect, a self-contained hospital. | Two separate rooms each contain a bed surrounded by plastic tents. The unit is, in effect, a self-contained hospital. |
| 'Really unpleasant death' | 'Really unpleasant death' |
| Mr Pooley told BBC News: "It feels like a lifetime has passed since I was here, and I'm grateful to be alive. | Mr Pooley told BBC News: "It feels like a lifetime has passed since I was here, and I'm grateful to be alive. |
| "But my whole year has been coloured by the death, shortly after my discharge, of a nursing sister and colleague in Africa, Nancy Yoko. | "But my whole year has been coloured by the death, shortly after my discharge, of a nursing sister and colleague in Africa, Nancy Yoko. |
| "I know what treatment I received because of where I'm from. She died a really unpleasant death. | "I know what treatment I received because of where I'm from. She died a really unpleasant death. |
| "She and a clutch of other staff there died protecting all of us from Ebola. | "She and a clutch of other staff there died protecting all of us from Ebola. |
| "Their story has been lost in some ways. We should remember them and honour them." | "Their story has been lost in some ways. We should remember them and honour them." |
| He paid tribute to his "compassionate and skilled" colleagues in A&E, saying he was "emotionally connected" to the Royal Free after his Ebola treatment. | He paid tribute to his "compassionate and skilled" colleagues in A&E, saying he was "emotionally connected" to the Royal Free after his Ebola treatment. |
| He added: "I bump into nurses in the lift who, a year ago, were saving my life." | He added: "I bump into nurses in the lift who, a year ago, were saving my life." |
| Deadliest outbreak | Deadliest outbreak |
| Timeline: How we lost control of the Ebola virus | Timeline: How we lost control of the Ebola virus |
| The nurse believes he caught Ebola from changing a baby's nappy. | The nurse believes he caught Ebola from changing a baby's nappy. |
| He was critical of the slow start to the global effort in tackling last year's outbreak. | He was critical of the slow start to the global effort in tackling last year's outbreak. |
| He said: "I've heard Barack Obama and David Cameron talk about how slow and inadequate the response was to start with. | He said: "I've heard Barack Obama and David Cameron talk about how slow and inadequate the response was to start with. |
| "Ultimately we ended up paying the price for that. | "Ultimately we ended up paying the price for that. |
| "We had to commit more resources for something that could have been nipped in the bud earlier on. | "We had to commit more resources for something that could have been nipped in the bud earlier on. |
| "And even if we're solving problems for selfish interests - to save trouble further down the line - we also have a moral responsibility to help." | "And even if we're solving problems for selfish interests - to save trouble further down the line - we also have a moral responsibility to help." |
| Keeping busy | Keeping busy |
| Some Ebola survivors have experienced problems such as joint pain and sight difficulties. | Some Ebola survivors have experienced problems such as joint pain and sight difficulties. |
| Mr Pooley was not exposed to levels of the virus which gave him lingering effects, but said it was a problem for a "substantial minority" of people. | Mr Pooley was not exposed to levels of the virus which gave him lingering effects, but said it was a problem for a "substantial minority" of people. |
| As he prepared for a series of night shifts in a packed A&E, he acknowledged his life would never be the same again. "I've been busy working nearly the whole time. | As he prepared for a series of night shifts in a packed A&E, he acknowledged his life would never be the same again. "I've been busy working nearly the whole time. |
| "I keep myself occupied and don't allow things to play on my mind too much. | "I keep myself occupied and don't allow things to play on my mind too much. |
| "I've got a great job and I'm living in a great city. | "I've got a great job and I'm living in a great city. |
| "But I still think about Sierra Leone, and the colleagues and friends we lost to Ebola." | "But I still think about Sierra Leone, and the colleagues and friends we lost to Ebola." |
| 'Disorientating' | 'Disorientating' |
| Two other nurses - Pauline Cafferkey, from Glasgow, and Army reservist Cpl Anna Cross, from Cambridge, - also needed treatment for Ebola in the special facility, the only permanent one of its kind in the UK. | Two other nurses - Pauline Cafferkey, from Glasgow, and Army reservist Cpl Anna Cross, from Cambridge, - also needed treatment for Ebola in the special facility, the only permanent one of its kind in the UK. |
| The infectious diseases consultant who treated all three nurses, Dr Michael Jacobs, told me: "It's a huge moment for us when we take the patients out of the tent. | The infectious diseases consultant who treated all three nurses, Dr Michael Jacobs, told me: "It's a huge moment for us when we take the patients out of the tent. |
| "It's the first time we can look after them directly, shake their hand and hug them. | "It's the first time we can look after them directly, shake their hand and hug them. |
| "It's often very disorientating for them in the first day or two, before they readjust to being back out and free again." | "It's often very disorientating for them in the first day or two, before they readjust to being back out and free again." |
| Mr Pooley was appointed an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours. | Mr Pooley was appointed an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours. |
| In July, he attended a Downing Street reception held to honour the 3,000 people receiving a medal for their work in tackling the lethal virus. | In July, he attended a Downing Street reception held to honour the 3,000 people receiving a medal for their work in tackling the lethal virus. |
| The unit at the Royal Free has now been empty for five months - a sign of the world's success in eventually bringing Ebola under control. | The unit at the Royal Free has now been empty for five months - a sign of the world's success in eventually bringing Ebola under control. |
| But it remains ready, around the clock, to receive patients with dangerous infectious diseases. | But it remains ready, around the clock, to receive patients with dangerous infectious diseases. |