A doctor who warned the United Kingdom Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, that health workers on the front line did not have enough personal protection equipment has died of COVID-19, Al Jazeera reports.He was a consultant in the urology department at Queen Elizabeth hospital in Romford, UK and had worked for the NHS for more than 20 years after migrating from Bangladesh.
Mr Chowdhury’s death came amid mounting concerns that medical workers are not receiving adequate PPE as a result of global shortage caused by the pandemic. The 53-year-old doctor, in a Facebook post on March 18, had called on the prime minister to provide PPE for “each and every NHS health worker in the UK” for him to fast-track testing for medical staff.
In his direct address to Mr Johnson, Mr Chowdhury said doctors, nurses and other workers who are in direct contact with patients were trying to help “but we are also human beings [with] human rights like others to live in this world disease free with our family and children.”While he appreciated moral support being given to NHS workers, “we have to protect ourselves and our families and kids in this global disaster crisis by using appropriate PPE and remedies,” he said.
“He was such a good man. He was always very helpful to everyone. He was a man with life,” Mr Pavel said.