Why this expat doctor serves with passion and dedication at age of 78
HER PASSION FOR PROFESSION, D LOVE FOR UAE RESULTED IN ENDEARING BOND
Every morning, at 7’O clock, when many people are still yet to get off the bed, Dr Urmil Verma, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, is already on the road, driving to her first shift. It is the first of the three that she will be working on at different hospitals throughout the day. Once she reaches her first stop, she quickly heads to the labour room and gets ready to perform the day’s first delivery or surgery.
Dr Verma celebrated her 78th birthday in the last week of July this year. Blessed with a robust health, an indefatigable spirit and a photographic memory, she is in no hurry to hang up her coat. On the contrary, working round the clock comes naturally to her. She is one of the few surgeons in UAE who shares her mobile number with her patients and is available 24x7 to her patients. On August 16, she completed 40 years of dedicated service as a doctor in UAE.
A doctor for all seasons
Even during the initial days of the pandemic, when doctors in the age group of 60 and above in the UAE were asked to stay home, Dr Verma chose to put on her Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and be there at the frontline, attending to patients with an unwavering responsibility. During her more-than-40 years of service to families in the UAE, she has helped deliver several thousand babies — sometimes for three generations in the same family.
Nothing excites and satisfies Dr Verma more than assisting a mother throughout her pregnancy and until the final day in the labour room to help her bring her child into the world. She has taken on challenging cases of pregnancies, managing her patients and steering them to safe deliveries.
In the last four decades, she has faced many challenges, but she has always been led by pure passion for her job. “In the early 1980s, when there were limited trained personnel, equipment and technology was not as sophisticated as today and there was no medical liability insurance for doctors, I still went out on a limb for my patients,” she recalled. “Nothing else matters to me except the welfare and happiness of a mother and her newborn. I am glad that I was able to handle some of the most complicated cases successfully.”
The best tribute I can pay to Dr Subhash is to continue working and contributing to this country that has given our family so much.”
The summer of new hopes
Dr Verma arrived in the UAE in the summer of 1981, along with her husband, the late Dr Subhash Chander Verma, a highly skilled general surgeon. The couple came from the United Kingdom where they had spent more than a decade in leading hospitals, acquiring top medical qualifications and working in reputed hospitals. She acquired several impressive degrees, while Dr Subhash acquired the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS). They worked hard to set up pioneering medical techniques and systems in the UAE. For nearly three decades, the Vermas worked in tandem, expanding the scope of medical care in the UAE. The couple introduced new medical techniques, increased bed capacity at the hospitals where they worked and built themselves a formidable reputation.
Five major dreams
When Dr Subhash Verma died of a cardiac arrest in 1999 — he was 58 — Dr Urmil did not give up her practice and returned to London. She educated her children in the UK — two daughters and a son — all of whom eventually decided to move to the UAE with their families.
Dr Verma recalls her long journey of pursuing dreams and experiences. “I became a doctor only because of my dad’s dream.
Dr Urmil Verma continued: “I actually had five dreams: To be a surgeon, to marry one, to ride in a plush Impala car (it was the ultimate car in our times), to have a church wedding and to see the Niagara Falls. I was lucky to have fulfilled three of these dreams. I became a gynaecologist as it was the only way women were accepted in surgery in my time, married a doctor who qualified as a distinguished FRCS surgeon and I saw the Niagara Falls.”
However, fulfilling dreams meant a lot of sacrifices and hard work. “As doctors, we would attend international conferences at least once a year and return to introduce new techniques in the UAE,” said Dr Verma
Exciting times
Those were exciting times, recalled Dr Verma. “We were keen to bring the latest to the UAE. Of course, this country has always been progressive in introducing the best and the latest. We received full support from the hospital management and the government,” she said.
Dr Verma believes that she and her husband grew and evolved in tandem with the UAE. “(We) became a part of this important journey [of the UAE] as an excellent healthcare destination,” she said. “I feel incredibly proud to be a part of the UAE growth story and its rapid evolution in the healthcare sector. From a couple of hospitals with limited beds and few specialities, the UAE today boasts of world-class healthcare facilities, multi-speciality hospitals in the primary and tertiary sectors in both public and private sectors and a good bed capacity.”
She also highlighted the efficiency of UAE’s Covid-19 management. “During the pandemic, we saw how well the hospitals managed patients. Wherever a need arose, health-care authorities across all emirates collaborated and set up field hospitals. It is a matter of great pride to be a part of the UAE’s successful health-care story to which my late husband, my two daughters and I dedicated ourselves,” she said.
Dr Urmil Verma | consultant obstetrician, gynaecologist
1981 year Dr Urmil and Dr Subhash landed in UAE from the UK
59 age of husband Dr Subhash when he died in 1999