The first Sikh to work as an A&E consultant in the UK has died after contracting Covid-19, an NHS trust has said.
Manjeet Singh Riyat was known by his 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 (UHDB) said.
The emergency consultant also acted as an emergency medicine tutor at Derby College where he oversaw the education of junior doctors.
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.
It is with deep sadness that we share the news that we’ve lost a colleague. Mr Manjeet Singh Riyat was a hugely respected Emergency Consultant at Royal Derby Hospital https://t.co/D24ouPgbcB pic.twitter.com/WIzX31DzOz
— University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS FT (@UHDBTrust) April 20, 2020
He qualified from the University of Leicester in 1992 and went on to train in Emergency Medicine at Leicester Royal Infirmary and Lincoln County Hospital.
During this time, and prior to the introduction of paramedics, he acted as team leader for the Accident Flying Squads at both hospitals.
He was also one of the first Clinical Research Fellows in the UK and contributed to the birth of academic Emergency Medicine.
Dr Kathy McLean OBE, chairwoman of the trust, added:
“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.
“Manjeet was hugely popular across the hospital and a warm and embracing figure, a person who many of our staff looked up to. 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. I want to offer our condolences to all his family and friends at this sad time.”