A London doctor who had first warned the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson about the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) has died of coronavirus.
According to a report by Sky News, Dr Abdul Mabud Chowdhury, 52, a urologist at London’s Homerton Hospital, succumbed to the disease on April 8 after spending 15 days at Queen’s Hospital in Romford, UK.
Appealing for PPE for ‘each and every’ health worker in the UK, he had written an urgent message to Johnson on Facebook on March 18.
‘Remember we may be doctor/nurse/HCA/allied health workers who are in direct contact with patients but we are also human beings trying to live in this world disease-free with our family and friends,’ Chowdhury wrote.
‘People appreciate us and salute us for our rewarding jobs which is very inspirational, but I would like to say we have to protect ourselves and our families in this global disaster,’ he added.
The Muslim Doctors Association paid tribute to the Bangladesh-born doctor, who had no underlying medical conditions.
‘We are deeply saddened by the death of Dr Abdul Mabud Chowdhury, Consultant Urologist at Homerton Hospital, after fighting for his life from COVID-19,’ the association said.
He is survived by his wife and two children. According to a family friend, Dr Golam Rahat Khan said Dr Chowdhury had been worried about coronavirus ‘long before’ it reached the UK.
‘He was telling me and other friends that coronavirus was very dangerous,’ he was quoted as saying. Dr Khan, 45, who has known Dr Chowdhury for nearly 20 years, said he was a ‘life-loving person’.
Calling him a ‘life-loving person’ Dr khan added: ‘He liked singing and liked our own Bengali culture and loved English heritage. ‘He was so caring, he would call us very often to come to his house. I last saw him on February 1 at my house for my son’s eighth birthday,’ he further said.
Dr Chowdhury’s death is the latest in a list of NHS staff who have died fighting the pandemic.
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