A PIONEERING Asian doctor who served in the NHS for nearly four decades and was a respected community leader passed away last week at the age of 96.
Dr Shivkumar Oza MBBS, FRCS (Lon), was the general secretary of the Overseas Doctors Association in Nottingham and was known for supporting Asian doctors in the UK by helping to organise medical meetings, lectures and gatherings of fellow professionals.
He passed away peacefully at his home in Radlett, Hertfordshire, surrounded by his family last Friday (22). Born in Kukadeshwar, Madhya Pradesh, central India, on August 11, 1927, Dr Oza completed his schooling at Rampura High school and won a scholarship at Mahatma Gandhi Medical (MGM) College in Indore. He then attended Seth Gordhandas Sunderdas (GS) Medical School in then Bombay, where he won a gold medal in his final graduation year.
Dr Oza was employed as a medical railway officer on the Western Railway in Mumbai and arrived in the UK in 1956 to further his studies.
In 1964, he successfully completed his fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons (London) specialising in orthopaedics before returning to India in December the same year.
He then returned to England, newly married, with his wife, Veena, and following a series of positions in orthopaedics, eventually settled in Nottingham in November 1968. Dr Oza retired at the age of 67 in January 1994, when he returned to India to care for his elderly parents.
Dr Oza was an eminent physician known for his dedication to the medical profession and cherished by family and those who knew him for his kindness, intelligence and his love of life.
He is survived by wife Veena, children Parag, Rashmi, Pankaj and grandchildren Ayush, Ruchita, Niyati, Aneesh and Paridhi.
The culture secretary with Shailesh Solanki and Kalpesh Solanki from the Asian Media Group (AMG), publishers of Eastern Eye
