Consultant raising funds for vital equipment to help Covid-19 crisis in his native India
A UHDB Consultant is raising funds to buy vital equipment to send to his native India as the country’s Covid-19 crisis continues.
Dr Rajeev Singh, Consultant Gastro-intestinal / Interventional Radiologist based at Royal Derby Hospital, is aiming to raise £30,000 to buy oxygen compressors which will help patients who are recovering from the virus, or whose condition is worsening to avoid them needing hospital treatment.
Dr Singh moved to the UK in 1995 from his hometown of Lucknow in North India, an area which has been badly affected by the recent outbreak. As soon as he saw the situation escalating, he said that he knew he wanted to do something to help as soon as he could:
“I’ve never done anything like this before but working in the field of medicine, I didn’t feel it was right for me to just stand by and do nothing.
“I rang some of my friends who are in Delhi and they said that some small machines that could be used by those that can’t make it to hospital would be incredibly useful.”
Dr Singh hopes to able to send around 20 oxygen compressors to India if he meets his fundraising target. Oxygen compressors are machines which draw oxygen from the air and convert it into concentrated oxygen which patients can then breathe in through a mask attached to the machine to help them to combat Covid-19. Once in India, the machines will be distributed by Dr Singh’s friends and family.
Dr Singh added: “The joy of these machines is that once a patient has finished their treatment with it, it can be sterilised and used by another patient. They’re not like oxygen cylinders which, once they have run out of gas, are completely useless.
“If we reach our fundraising target, we’re hoping to be able to purchase around 20 of these machines could help so many people. We’ve liaised with the Indian High Commission about what we’re trying to do and they’ve been really helpful and are extremely grateful of any help that we can offer them.”
Sadly, Dr Singh has been personally affected by the ongoing events in India, and a few of his relatives have succumbed to the virus in recent weeks, which added to his compulsion to do all he can to help.
He said: “I have had a few relatives, who have sadly passed away in recent weeks as a result of Covid-19, so when my phone rings in the middle of the night, I do fear the worst news.
“My mother, brother and sister are among some of my family still living in India and I’ve been speaking to them regularly during the pandemic, and during the first wave they were telling me how well the virus was being managed in India. I don’t think anyone could have imagined that this was going to happen just a few weeks ago.
“I do find it very frustrating. I am a doctor and it’s my job to save people’s lives, but I’m so far away, unable to get to my family and feeling so helpless.”
Dr Singh and his fundraising partner, Robert Fuller, have now raised more than £4,000, and had this to say for everyone who has donated so far:
“I just want to say a big thank you from the bottom of my heart for everyone who has donated so far. This crisis has touched people and that’s exactly how it’s made me feel and I just want to help.”
Find out more about the campaign on the GoFundMe page (opens in new window) >