Doctor who warned Prime Minister over lack of PPE dies with coronavirus

9 April 2020, 18:23

Abdul Mabud Chowdhury died aged 53. Picture: PA

By Maddie Goodfellow

A doctor who warned the Prime Minister about the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) for NHS workers has died after contracting coronavirus.

Consultant urologist Abdul Mabud Chowdhury, 53, died on Wednesday night, more than two weeks after being taken to hospital on March 23.

Just five days before being admitted, Dr Chowdhury wrote a Facebook post asking Boris Johnson to urgently provide every NHS worker with PPE.

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In the post on March 18, he wrote: "People appreciate us and salute us for our rewarding job which are very inspirational but I would like to say we have to protect ourselves and our families /kids in this global disaster/crisis by using appropriate PPE and remedies."

Family friend doctor 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 said.

Abdul Mabud Chowdhury had called for better PPE for NHS staff. Picture: PA

Dr Khan, 45, who has known Dr Chowdhury for nearly 20 years, described him as a "life-loving person".

He 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."

Dr Khan said none of Dr Chowdhury's relatives were with him when he died at around 10.35pm at Queen's Hospital in Romford.

Dr Chowdhury, who worked at Homerton University Hospital in London, is survived by his wife and two children aged 18 and 11.

In a statement, the Muslim Doctors Association paid tribute to him saying: "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.

"He leaves behind his wife and two children. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.

"Two weeks before his admission to hospital he wrote a message to the prime minister urging for better PPE.

"May he rest in peace."

Paying tribute to Dr Khan, Homerton University Hospital's chief executive Tracey Fletcher said: "Abdul will be greatly missed by every member of the urology department, as well as by all those who knew him in outpatients, wards, theatres and management.

"Our thoughts are with his family at this very sad time."

It comes after Anton Sebastianpillai, consultant geriatrician at Kingston Hospital in south-west London, died on Saturday, four days after being admitted to the intensive care unit.