Sister’s tragic death inspired boy to later become a doctor
SPECIALIST MARKS 40 YEARS IN NHS
A HULL man who was heartbroken when his sister tragically died from meningitis - leaving behind three childrenwas inspired by her to become a doctor specialising in women’s care.
The family tragedy and later brush with death were the catalyst for Dr Jagdish Ghandi deciding to embark on a career in medicine helping women back in his home country of India.
The urogynaecologist specialist and father-of-two, who works at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital, has spoken of how seeing his sisters suffer spurred him to help others as he celebrated 40 years working in the NHS on Tuesday.
Years later, his own wife and children are now also doctors, joking that they are all taught the working day finishes “when you’ve seen your last patient not at 5pm”.
An 11-year-old Jagdish hit by overwhelming grief when, at just 20, his older sister Devbala died of meningitis leaving her three children - including a newborn baby - without a mother.
Deciding he was going to study medicine to make people better, his other sister’s brush with a potentially fatal condition affecting people in childbirth then made him opt to specialise in women’s health.
Dr Ghandi qualified as a doctor in 1975 after studying medicine in Gujarat, after the help of his village
GP who later became his father-in-law.
When his other sister almost died of pre-eclampsia during her pregnancy, he decided to specialise in gynaecology.
“I always wanted to make a difference to people’s lives rather than just do general practice,” he said, as he marked the landmark anniversary of service to the NHS.
Dr Ghandi came to the UK to further his medicine studies due to the limited facilities in India at the time.
“Even a simple X-ray was out of reach,” he said of his time studying in his home country.
Along with wife Anju, he moved to the UK in 1980 and spent years moving around with their young children
Maulik and Prapti in tow, eventually specialising in urogynaecology.
Dr Ghandi’s field treats patients with life-affecting conditions including urinary incontinence, vaginal prolapse, recurrent urinary tract infections, bladder pain and pelvic floor injury after childbirth.
He said: “The biggest achievement of my career has been establishing the services to help prevent urinary incontinence. Three out of four women over 50 suffer from this, but it’s taboo and no one wants to talk about it.
“Our work in this field and the difference we make to women’s lives is what gives me most pride.”
Dr Ghandi’s son Maulik is now an orthopaedic limb surgeon in Bradford, while Prapti is a GP and wife Anju works in alternative medicine. His daughter and son-in-law also work as a GP and optometrist respectively. “We’ve got four grandchildren now and that causes a problem because when one of them is ill, there are six opinions to consider,” Mr Gandhi joked.
“My wife and I took away their watches,” he said of his children.
“We told them your work does not finish at 5pm. Your work finishes when you’ve dealt with your last patient.”
Simon Nearney, Director of Workforce and Organisational Development, said: “Jagdish Gandhi is an incredible doctor and a phenomenal person who has dedicated his life to helping others.
“He has changed the lives of so many women and we, like them, owe him such a debt of gratitude for all he has achieved throughout his career. Our trust is very lucky to have him.”
I always wanted to make a difference to people’s lives rather than just do general practice
Dr Jagdish Ghandi