Tributes to retired Hexham doctor, Dr Mihir Kanti Nandy

Dr Mihir Kanti Nandy was born in Bangladesh on September 30 1938, as the eldest of six children in a village his grandfather established known as Nandirhat, near Chittagong.

His daughter, Rachel, paid tribute to her dad and said he experienced more life challenges than most do before he even left school.

Mihir survived smallpox, cholera, typhoid and malaria, along with the partition of India. He was born determined not only to survive but to become a doctor.

Dr Mihir Nandy (Image: Supplied)

Mihir studied medicine at Dhaka University in Bangladesh, worked several part-time jobs to self-fund his studies and avoided the cost of ironing shirts by putting them under the mattress of the heaviest man he shared a dormitory with.

Mihir went on to work in Calcutta, India, where his family escaped to live following the partition.

In his early days as a doctor, he gained a reputation for himself when he fought to get supplies for a woman whose life was saved following very complex surgery, but who couldn't afford the blood needed to keep her alive post-surgery.

His passion for his patients got him noticed and led to a new job working as a doctor for the Rayleigh Bicycle Company. He flew to Heathrow in 1967, aged 29, and travelled to Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, where a friend had secured him a hospital job for a month.

Arriving with £3 and two suitcases, Mihir began his life in the UK where he would stay for the next 56 years.

Dr Mihir Nandy (Image: Supplied)

Rachel said her dad was the definition of dedication to the NHS and patients, securing himself jobs in Galashiels and Hartlepool before specialising in orthopaedics at The Sanderson and then the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle.

From the Freeman, he was recommended by Professor Stevens for a specialist role in the Spinal Injury Unit in Hexham, where he worked for 22 years and operated on at least half of Hexham, Rachel said.

He met and married his wife Hazel in 1979, and they moved to Hexham in 1982, before Rachel was born in 1984.

Family highlights included summer seaside holidays, especially in Blackpool and Scarborough, and enjoying Indian meals with friends.

Mihir only returned twice, in 1980 and 2005, to his large family in India, but was greeted as the long-lost son by every member of his family and all who came from far and wide to see him back in his village.

Since retiring in 2000, Mihir enjoyed art classes and became adept at watercolour painting. He loved walking, and would only walk without a thick red coat if it topped 35 degrees.

Post-retirement, Mihir volunteered for more than 20 years at Hexham's Oxfam shops and enjoyed supporting his church family. Mihir had an extremely strong faith in God which supported him through his many life changes and challenges and through his MND diagnosis earlier this year.

Rachel said: "Dad was an incredibly dedicated and hard-working doctor who treated every patient he saw with the utmost respect and humanity. All of his patients remembered him fondly, his kindness and friendly, caring smile.

Mihir died on August 5, aged 84.