A doctor diagnosed with coronavirus has died - three weeks after he warned the prime minister that health workers urgently needed more personal protective equipment (PPE).

Abdul Mabud Chowdhury, 52, passed away after 15 days in hospital with COVID-19.

On 18 March he wrote a message to Boris Johnson asking him to "urgently" ensure PPE for "each and every NHS worker in the UK".

He told the prime minister that healthcare workers "are in direct contact with patients" and have a "human right like others to live in this world disease-free with our family and children".

Dr Chowdhury was a locum urologist who worked at Homerton Hospital in east London and died on Wednesday at Queen's Hospital in Romford after testing positive for coronavirus.


Image: Dr Chowdhury leaves behind a wife and two children

His 18-year-old son, Intisar Chowdhury, said: "My father would not be afraid to point out what was wrong. Because he cared about people, he cared about his co-workers, his colleagues, his family, he cared about people he's never even met.

"He cared about everyone and that love and compassion he had for everyone extends in every aspect of his life. He is a hero.

"I do not wish this sort of pain on anyone. You really don't want to be feeling what I'm feeling. You shouldn't have to lose your father at this age."

Intisar spoke about the last moments he spent with his father in the intensive care unit.

"He looked peaceful," he said.

"I held his hand and prayed by his side. But he was peaceful. I just told him, 'I love you baba'."

His 11-year-old daughter Wareesha Chowdhury, said: "He was loved by so many, it just makes me heartbroken to see him go but it made me so happy that I got to know him.

"I love him so much, to the moon and back. I just miss him. He left so quickly, it's too early for him to go. He was a blessing and he didn't deserve to leave so early."

Both Wareesha and Intisar said they were inspired to become medics after the death of their father.

His son said:"My father is a leading role model for all of us, I hope we can keep his memory alive by becoming the person he has taught us all to become. He is a legend."

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."

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In his message to the prime minister, Dr Chowdhury wrote: "Please ensure urgently PPE for each and every NHS health worker in the UK.

"Remember we may be doctors/nurses/HCAs/allied health workers who are in direct contact with patients, but we are also human beings to practice human rights like others, to live in this world disease free with our family and children.

"Otherwise in future our children will lose interest to go to medical school.

"We also should get first track facilities for coronavirus testing to help our patients to prevent the disease spreading."

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.

Dr Khan, 45, who has known Dr Chowdhury for nearly 20 years, said he was a "life-loving person".

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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 Chowdhury's death is the latest in a list of NHS staff who have died fighting the pandemic.