Abu Dhabi: A 61-year-old doctor from India has died of coronavirus in Al Ain, it was confirmed on Sunday.
Dr Sudhir Rambhau Washimkar, who hailed from the city of Nagpur, passed away at Al Ain Hospital on Saturday.
He was employed at the Burjeel Royal Hospital in Al Ain, part of the VPS Healthcare network, and the private health provider confirmed his demise in a statement issued on Sunday.
“It is with great pain and grief that VPS Healthcare mourns the untimely and shocking demise of Dr Sudhir Rambhau Washimkar, internal medicine specialist at Burjeel Royal Hospital, Al Ain. [He] was undergoing treatment for COVID-19 at Al Ain Hospital when he breathed his last on Saturday, June 6, 2020,” the statement said.
Dr Washimkar had been tending to COVID-19 patients when he initially fell ill.
“Dr. Washimkar was a frontline warrior and was at the forefront in treating and attending to COVID-19 patients at Burjeel Royal hospital. He tested positive for COVID-19 on May 9. Two days later, on May 11, he was transferred to Al Ain Hospital,” the hospital said.
Friends and colleagues testify that the doctor, who had been at VPS since 2018, had been very selfless, and was always available to his patient.
“A very jovial person, he had an affable personality and was very diligent and sincere at work. He was very passionate about serving his patients and had upheld the integrity and value of his profession until the end,” VPS statement said.
Dr. Arun Menon, regional director for VPS in Al Ain, said the doctor’s demise is a great loss for the institution.
“Dr. Washimkar became a member of VPS family in 2018 when he joined Burjeel as an internal medicine specialist. A very experienced and skillful doctor, he always had a smile on his face. He was also humble, gentle and a master at his work, making him one of the most popular doctors in the hospital,” Dr Menon said.
“Dr Washimkar was one of the most courageous frontline warriors since the beginning of the outbreak of the pandemic in the UAE. The staff at Burjeel Royal Hospital and the entire VPS family will miss him,” he added.
Including Dr Washimkar, the UAE has so far lost 276 people to the coronavirus.
The doctor is survived by his wife and two sons, who held his funeral on Sunday.
“In this hour of grief, [the VPS family] expresses its sincere condolences to the bereaved family for their great loss. We affirm our complete and unstinting support for them forever, and they are part of our great family We will be taking care of all their needs and will stand by them in all their steps in fulfilling the dreams Dr. Washimkar had cherished for his family,” the VPS statement said.
This support will extend to supporting the children’s education.
“Both [the doctor’s] sons are following the path of their father and [studying] medicine. This was Dr Washimkar’s dream, and to fulfill it, VPS Healthcare will take up the responsibility of financing the education, [including] the entire annual cost of about Dh300,000, until the completion of their studies,” Dr Menon explained.
