Dr Saad Al-Dubbaisi, a 59-year-old GP at the Garden City Medical Centre passed away after being 'very poorly for a number of weeks', according to Bury CCG. His daughter Zainab - also a doctor - told a local newspaper she was extremely grateful to NHS staff who had cared for her father during his battle with COVID-19.
She told the Bury Times her father had worked as a GP in Bury, Greater Manchester, for over 20 years after qualifying as a doctor in Baghdad, Iraq, in 1983.
Bury CCG chair Dr Jeff Schryer, a fellow local GP, said: 'It comes with great sadness to hear the news that one of our GPs, Dr Saad Al-Dubbaisi, has sadly passed away after being very poorly for a number of weeks.
COVID-19 pandemic
'Dr Al-Dubbaisi was a much loved, compassionate and experienced GP. He lived and worked in Bury, and was a popular and caring member of our general practice community. Dr Al-Dubbaisi cared for generations of the same families from his practice in Holcombe Brook for many years. He will be sorely missed by his work family and patients.
'Our health and care staff are the people who put themselves on the front line every single day, and our thoughts and condolences are with his wife, children and the dedicated practice team at Garden City at this incredibly difficult time.'
Staff at the Garden City Medical Centre posted the same message on the practice website, and have invited patients and colleagues to email comments for a book of condolence being compiled in honour of Dr Al-Dubbaisi to: buccg.gardencity@nhs.net.
The GP has become the eighth to lose his life to coronavirus during the ongoing pandemic, after the death of Essex GPs Dr Kamlesh Masson, Dr Habib Zaidi and Dr Fayez Ayache; Dorset GP Dr Craig Wakeham; and London GPs Dr Yusuf Ismail Patel, Dr Syed Zishan Haider and Dr Krishan Arora. See the GPonline tribute page for more details.
BAME risk
Seven of the eight GPs who have died after contracting COVID-19 are from black, Asian or minority ethnic backgrounds. The government is carrying out a review to investigate the disproportionate impact of coronavirus on BAME NHS staff.
GP practices have been advised to carry out risk assessments on all BAME members of their healthcare team during the pandemic - and the BMA has warned that older BAME healthcare staff should not work in high-risk roles.
