Colleagues paid tribute to the 80-year-old - believed to be one of Slough's longest-serving GPs - and said colleagues and patients alike would remember him for his 'genial and thoughtful' manner.
Dr Dhatt had been working at the Kumar Medical Centre in Slough until 28 February this year - and previously as a partner at the nearby Langley Health Centre. Staff aged over 70 at the Kumar Medical Centre were instructed to work from home early on in the pandemic, and Dr Dhatt himself was on holiday at the time the UK entered lockdown.
A statement from the East Berkshire CCG said: 'East Berkshire CCG is very sad to learn of the death of Dr Mohinder Singh Dhatt, one of our longest-standing GPs in Slough.
COVID-19 pandemic
'He was very well known, tremendously popular, and his death is a great loss to all. Dr Dhatt was a keen supporter of professional training and development in Slough and had a special interest in haematology.
'He will always be remembered for his genial and thoughtful manner to patients and colleagues. He will be very much missed and we extend our sympathy and condolences to his family and friends.'
Local MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi wrote on Twitter that 'too many lives' had been lost to COVID-19, paying tribute to Dr Dhatt as a 'highly respected person' who had played an important role in his local community.
This is indeed very sad news; too many lives lost in the last few days. Dr Mohinder Singh Dhatt was a highly respected person within the Slough community and did a lot for the local community. My sincere condolences to his family. May he RIP.
— Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi MP (@TanDhesi) May 1, 2020
Dr Dhatt is the 11th GP to die after contracting coronavirus. The Slough GP lost his life just a week after County Durham GP Dr Poornima Nair and Essex GP Dr Karamat Ullah Mirza became the ninth and tenth primary care doctors to lose their lives during the pandemic.
Dr Kamlesh Masson, Dr Habib Zaidi and Dr Fayez Ayache - also from Essex, along with Bury GP Dr Saad Al-Dubbaisi, Dorset GP Dr Craig Wakeham and London GPs Dr Yusuf Ismail Patel, Dr Syed Zishan Haider and Dr Krishan Arora have also died. See the GPonline tribute page for more details.
Dr Dhatt is the tenth GP from a black, Asian or minority ethnic (BAME) background to die during the pandemic. Research published last week showed that people from BAME groups face a two to three times higher risk of death from the virus.
Practices have been urged to risk assess BAME doctors and the BMA has warned that older BAME doctors should not be working in high risk roles during the pandemic.
