‘Dedicated’ Croydon doctor dies suddenly to shock of friends and family of ‘fantastic’ dad
Tributes have been paid to a much-loved Croydon doctor who unexpectedly died after a heart attack at age 42, much to the shock of his family, friends, and colleagues. Dr. Rizwan Irshad, who was a lead GP for the out-of-hours service in Croydon and an active member of Purley mosque, died on Friday (March 10) after waking up with chest pain.
His wife told MyLondon the NHS had “lost a gem” as she described her husband’s dedication to his work and passion for delivering patient-led care. She told MyLondon: “He always thought of his patients. He really, really wanted what was best for his patients. He treated people how he would want his own family members to be treated.
“What was really amazing about my husband is that some people who I’ve talked to since he passed, they maybe only had a 10-minute conversation with him. But that 10-minute conversation they remembered because he gave them attention. He gave good advice, and above all, he has faith and our faith is more important than anything.”
Dr. Rizwan leaves behind two children; a daughter, 12, and a son, eight. His wife added: “They’re accepting that this is God’s plan. And we believe in the afterlife and so we hope we’re going meet him again in paradise.
“He was a fantastic dad and a fantastic husband. Even just down to the little things, like making sure my water bottle on the bedside table was full. He would do the grocery shopping on a Saturday but he would individually choose each fruit for the children.”
Dr Rizwan was Regional Medical Director for Croydon and Greenwich. As well as being a dedicated GP, he oversaw care for 45,000 patients at six practices across both boroughs. More recently, he led the out of hours GP service covering the whole Croydon borough, based in Croydon University Hospital. He was undertaking a project to improve emergency care in the area.
Dr Rizwan grew up in Newton Abbot, in Devon but moved to London as he wanted to be part of Islamic community in the capital and for work. When he arrived, he played an active role in the local community, including as a football coach to young people and fundraising significant amounts of money for Purley Mosque.
His friend Nadeem Ali, who knew Dr Rizwan through the mosque and through work told MyLondon he was equally shocked to hear of his sad and unexpected death. He told MyLondon: “He was somebody who was quite fit and healthy. He went to gym several times a week, he was a football coach at the mosque. He was a devoted family man and dedicated doctor.
“Everyone was in absolute shock when we heard the news of his death. We thought it must be a mistake, it must be someone else. Its causing people to re-evaluate their whole lives. The idea that someone age 42 could die like this is such a shock.”
A fundraiser set up in the wake of his death raised a massive £66k in just a few days and received donations from over 1,000 different people. “It just shows how many people loved him and that he touched during his work as a doctor and at the mosque” his friend Nadeem added.
