Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

UK's first Sikh A&E consultant dies of coronavirus

A SIKH doctor who died after contracting coronavirus was described as a "hugely respected" father of the emergency team at the Royal Derby Hospital in East Midlands.

Manjeet Singh Riyat, 52, from the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton, was the first Accident and Emergency (A&E) consultant from the Sikh community in the UK.


Colleagues paid tribute on Monday (20), saying he was well loved and would be missed immensely.

"Mr Riyat, known to his colleagues as Manjeet, was a widely respected consultant in emergency medicine nationally," said Gavin Boyle, chief executive of the hospital.

"Manjeet was the first A&E consultant from the Sikh community in the country and was instrumental in building the Emergency Medicine Service in Derbyshire over the past two decades.

“He was an incredibly charming person and well loved. Manjeet knew so many people here across the hospital, we will all miss him immensely."

Riyat qualified from the University of Leicester in 1992 and trained in emergency medicine at Leicester Royal Infirmary and Lincoln County Hospital.

During this time, and prior to the introduction of paramedics in the region, he acted as team leader for the Accident Flying Squads at both hospitals.

Riyat was also one of the first Clinical Research Fellows in the UK and contributed to the birth of academic emergency medicine.

Susie Hewitt, Consultant Emergency Medicine, on behalf of the Emergency Department team at Royal Derby Hospital, said: "Despite his many achievements, Manjeet was most at home as a highly visible shop floor Emergency Medicine Consultant. He was consistently generous with his remarkable clinical knowledge to everyone in the team.

"He had that rare gift of maintaining constant joy in the intellectual challenge of clinical medicine combined with gentle kindness and compassion for his patients. He was a powerful advocate for the sickest patients and was well known for his fair, no-nonsense approach. By contrast, Manjeet could be relied upon to lift the mood with his dry humour and sense of fun."

She described her former colleague as enormously valued and much loved as a colleague, supervisor and mentor as well as for his wise counsel and discreet support in tough times.

"Manjeet was fiercely proud of his wife and two sons and often shared the achievements and exploits of the boys with equal good humour. He always kept sight of what is really important in life and set an example by living life in keeping with his high standards and strong values. He will be hugely missed," she said.

In 2003, Riyat became one of four consultants in emergency medicine at the Derbyshire Royal Infirmary and was the first person from the Sikh community to be appointed as an Emergency Medicine Consultant in the UK.

He became head of service for the Emergency Department in 2006 and made contributions to clinical governance and patient safety.

His NHS Trust said he also played a significant role as part of the consultant body through his appointment as deputy chair and later chair of both the Medical Advisory and Medical Staffing committees.

He was also praised for his commitment to teaching and contribution to medical education.

As Derby College Tutor for Emergency Medicine, he oversaw the training of junior doctors from multiple specialties in the Emergency Department.

He also spent 17 years serving as an educational supervisor to dozens of regional Emergency Medicine trainees and took pride in his work supporting trainees in difficulty for the Deanery.

Riyat was an active Advanced Life Support (ALS), Advanced Paediatric Life Support and Advanced Trauma Life Support instructor and was instrumental in setting up ALS courses in Derby as Course Director.

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine appointed Manjeet as a College Examiner in 2007.

Dr Kathy McLean, Chair of the NHS hospital trust, praised his contribution to the NHS in Derbyshire and across the field of emergency medicine across the UK.

"I had known Manjeet from when he first joined the Trust in the early 2000s and he very quickly made an impact with his focus on patient care and high standards. It was clear that he was an outstanding emergency medicine doctor and generations of families in this region have benefitted from the care he provided," she said.

"Manjeet was hugely popular across the hospital and a warm and embracing figure, a person who many of our staff looked up to. I met him again shortly after returning to the Trust as Chair and was greeted with a big hug. This is a terribly sad day for all of those who had the pleasure to have known him and to have worked alongside him. I want to offer our condolences to all his family and friends at this sad time," she added.

More For You

Ping Pong restaurant chain shuts all UK branches

The chain had also gained a following for its themed brunches

iStock

Ping Pong restaurant chain shuts all UK branches after 20 years

Key points

  • Chinese dim sum restaurant Ping Pong has closed all its UK locations
  • The chain made the announcement via social media
  • Founded in 2005, the brand thanked customers and staff for their support
  • Loyal diners shared memories and disappointment in the comments

All branches are permanently closed

Chinese restaurant chain Ping Pong has permanently closed all its branches in the UK, the company confirmed in a social media announcement.

Founded in 2005 by restaurateur Kurt Zdesar, the dim sum chain had become popular for its stylish interiors, creative menus, and Asian-inspired cocktails. The company did not provide prior notice of the closure but said the decision marked the end of an “unforgettable” 20-year journey.

Keep ReadingShow less
New Covid strain

Experts have raised concerns about the immune-evasive nature of the Stratus strain

iStock

New Covid strain Stratus spreads in UK with unusual hoarse voice symptom

Key points

  • A new Covid strain known as Stratus is spreading across the UK
  • The variant is marked by a distinctive symptom: a hoarse or raspy voice
  • Sub-variants XFG and XFG.3 now account for 30% of cases in England
  • Experts say there is no evidence of more severe disease
  • Lower immunity levels may make more people vulnerable to infection

Covid variant Stratus on the rise in the UK

A new strain of Covid-19, known as Stratus, is spreading across the UK and drawing attention for its unusual symptom — a hoarse or raspy voice. According to data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), Stratus and its two sub-variants, XFG and XFG.3, are responsible for around 30 per cent of Covid cases in England.

Of the two, XFG.3 is currently the more dominant. The UKHSA confirmed that monitoring of all circulating Covid-19 variants is ongoing as part of regular surveillance.

Keep ReadingShow less
Human brain continues forming neurons

Neurogenesis, the process by which new neurons form in the brain

iStock

Human brain continues forming neurons well into old age, study finds

Key points

  • New neurons continue forming in the brain’s hippocampus into old age
  • Study confirms presence of neural progenitor cells in adults
  • DNA carbon dating and single-nucleus RNA sequencing were used
  • Research shows variation in neuron production between individuals
  • Findings could aid treatments for neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders

Human brain shows ongoing neuron formation into older age

A new study has confirmed that the human brain continues to produce new nerve cells well into late adulthood, challenging previous assumptions about age-related decline in neurogenesis. The findings, published in the journal Science, provide fresh insight into how adaptable the brain remains over a lifetime.

Neurogenesis, the process by which new neurons form in the brain, is known to occur in the hippocampus — a region involved in memory. While previous research has suggested that this process continues throughout life, there has been limited concrete evidence of the presence of neural progenitor cells in the adult brain.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kent County Show 2025

Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, who grew up in Brenchley

Getty Images

Kent County Show opens with royal visit from Duchess of Edinburgh

Key points:

  • Day one of the Kent County Show begins at Detling Showground near Maidstone
  • The Duchess of Edinburgh visits the event for the first time in 16 years
  • Organisers expect up to 70,000 visitors over the weekend
  • Farming and rural life are at the centre of the three-day programme
  • Highlights include live camel racing, equine sports, livestock displays and more

Kent County Show opens with royal visit

The Kent County Show returned to Detling near Maidstone on Friday, marking the start of a major three-day celebration of farming, food, and rural living. The event opened with a special visit from the Duchess of Edinburgh, who is attending for the first time in 16 years.

Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, who grew up in Brenchley near Tunbridge Wells and serves as patron of the Association of Show and Agricultural Organisations (ASAO), met with farmers, equine exhibitors, and local businesses on her tour of the showground.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sri Aurobindo

Heehs’s biography is grounded in extensive archival research across France, England, India and Israel

AMG

Sri Aurobindo and the rise of the Asian century

Dinesh Sharma

My friend and colleague, the American historian Peter Heehs, who has lived in Pondicherry, India, for decades, recently published a compelling new biography, The Mother: A Life of Sri Aurobindo’s Collaborator (2025). Heehs previously authored The Lives of Sri Aurobindo (2008), which remains one of the most balanced and scholarly accounts of Aurobindo’s life.

According to Heehs, most previous biographies of the Mother were written for devotees and relied on secondary sources, often presenting her as a divine incarnation without critical engagement. “Such biographies are fine for those who see the Mother as a divine being,” Heehs said, “but they can be off-putting for readers who simply want to understand her life – as an artist, writer, spiritual teacher, and founder of the Ashram and Auroville.”

Keep ReadingShow less