A ‘widely respected’ doctor who became the first Sikh to work as an A&E consultant in Britain has died after contracting Covid-19.
Manjeet Riyat, 52, was known described by colleagues at the Royal Derby Hospital as the ‘father of the emergency department.’
Mr Riyat, who previously worked at Leicester Royal Infirmary and Lincoln County Hospital, has been described as ‘instrumental’ in building the emergency medicine service in Derbyshire over the past 20 years.
He died on Monday at Royal Derby Hospital, the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Trust said.
The emergency consultant also acted as an emergency medicine tutor at Derby College where he oversaw the education of junior doctors.
His death marks the second at the trust, after Dr Amged El-Hawrani, an ear, nose and throat consultant at Queen’s Hospital Burton , died last month.
The number of health and social care workers to have died of coronavirus has surpassed 100 in the UK.
Manjeet Riyat died at the Royal Derby Hospital on Monday (University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Trust/PA)
Doctors, nurses, care home workers and allied healthcare professionals have all been lost in Britain’s fight against COVID-19.
The Government has only confirmed the death of 27 NHS workers, but nursing platform NursingNotes says the number was at least 100 at 2pm yesterday.
Its records show Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) people accounted for 75 per cent of healthcare workers deaths, despite them only being 20 per cent of the workforce.
Speaking to Sky News, the cousin of Mr Riyat said: ‘He was a mountain of a man. He was my brother basically, if there’s one man I’m going to miss the most it’s him.
‘He was the most generous man you could meet – the kindest man you could meet, with a great sense of humour.’
Also paying tribute to Mr Riyat, trust chief executive Gavin Boyle said: ‘Mr Riyat, known to his colleagues as Manjeet, was a widely respected consultant in emergency medicine nationally.
‘Manjeet was the first A&E consultant from the Sikh community in the country and was instrumental in building the emergency medicine service in Derbyshire over the past two decades.
‘He was an incredibly charming person and well-loved. Manjeet knew so many people here across the hospital; we will all miss him immensely.
‘On behalf of everyone here at UHDB, including our patients and the communities we serve, I would like to offer our sincere condolences to his family.’
In a tribute on behalf of the hospital’s emergency department team, emergency medicine consultant Susie Hewitt said: ‘Manjeet was one of the first clinical research fellows in the UK and contributed to the birth of academic emergency medicine.
‘Despite his many achievements, Manjeet was most at home as a highly visible ‘shop floor’ emergency medicine consultant.
‘He was consistently generous with his remarkable clinical knowledge to everyone in the team.
Gerallt Davies, 51, is the first paramedic in Wales to die after suffering COVID-19
‘He had that rare gift of maintaining constant joy in the intellectual challenge of clinical medicine, combined with gentle kindness and compassion for his patients.
‘He was a powerful advocate for the sickest patients and was well known for his fair, no-nonsense approach.
‘By contrast, Manjeet could be relied upon to lift the mood with his dry humour and sense of fun.
‘Manjeet was enormously valued and much loved as a colleague, supervisor and mentor, as well as for his wise council and discreet support in tough times. For many, Manjeet was considered the father of the current emergency department in Derby and many more will reflect on how his inspiration has shaped their own careers.
‘Finally, Manjeet was fiercely proud of his wife and two sons and often shared the achievements and exploits of the boys with equal good humour. He always kept sight of what is really important in life and set an example by living life in keeping with his high standards and strong values. He will be hugely missed.’
Trust chairwoman Dr Kathy McLean said: ‘Mr Manjeet Riyat made a huge contribution to the NHS in Derbyshire and across the field of emergency medicine nationally.
‘I had known Manjeet from when he first joined the trust in the early 2000s and he very quickly made an impact with his focus on patient care and high standards.
‘It was clear that he was an outstanding emergency medicine doctor and generations of families in this region have benefited from the care he provided.
‘I met him again shortly after returning to the trust as chair and was greeted with a big hug. This is a terribly sad day for all of those who had the pleasure to have known him and to have worked alongside him.’
As of Monday, a total of 16,509 people diagnosed with Covid-19 have died in the UK.
Meanwhile, Gerallt Davies, 51, is the first paramedic in Wales to die after suffering COVID-19.
He had been awarded an MBE in 2009 for his work as a national operations officer for St John Cymru Wales.
He was based at Cwmbwrla Station in Swansea and had worked for the ambulance service for 26 years.
Mr Davies’ death was described as “a devastating blow” for his colleagues.