The family and friends of a highly-respected former Tameside GP and leading NHS campaigner who died last month will say their final goodbyes to him on Friday (13 August).
Dr Kailash Chand OBE sadly passed away on the evening of Monday 26 July after suffering a cardiac arrest at his home.
Kailash worked for 25 years as a GP in Ashton, while he was the first Asian honorary vice president of the British Medical Association (BMA), and had stints as Chair of Healthwatch Tameside, and Tameside and Glossop Primary Care Trust.
During his 35-year career in the NHS, the eminent GP also tirelessly campaigned for improving standards and fought to stop it from being privatised, as well as promoting public health at a local, regional and national level.
Tributes to Dr Chand poured in from politicians, fellow GPs, organisational bodies and members of the local community. You can read some of them here, while his son Dr Assem Malhotra shared a personal and heartfelt video message to 'the most amazing father that anyone could wish for'.
Dr Kailash Chand (right) with his son Dr Aseem Malhotra
There will be a commemorative service at Dukinfield Town Hall on King Street from 11am to 12.15pm, followed by a ceremony at Hollinwood Cemetery in Oldham from 1pm to 2pm and then there will be a lunch.
For those unable to attend the funeral service, it will be streamed live on YouTube here https://virtualstudiolive.com/kailashchand so people can follow it virtually.
Aseem said: "This is the sternest test for me but I would like to celebrate his illustrious life with an appropriate funeral service. You will all agree that my dad was a people's person, the fiercest defender of the NHS, and for me the most amazing father and my best friend.
"So do please join me and those whom he loved at this commemorative service."
Aseem also asks that any donations go to the Greater Manchester Mayor's Charity - which Kailash served as a Trustee - to support the most vulnerable people in the city-region. You can leave a donation here: https://gmmayorscharity.co.uk/.
Aseem tweeted on Friday morning: "Today will be the most difficult day of my life so far as I say my final goodbyes to the last surviving member of my immediate family and my best friend, my extraordinary father Dr Kailash Chand OBE. Thank you for all your tremendous support and love over the past few weeks."
Today will be the most difficult day of my life so far as I say my final goodbyes to the last surviving member of my immediate family and my best friend, my extraordinary father @KailashChandOBE. Thank you for all your tremendous support & love over the past few weeks
— Dr Aseem Malhotra (@DrAseemMalhotra) August 13, 2021
🙏❤️ #NHS pic.twitter.com/OursfatQUy
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