RIP: Who Was Dr Irfan Halim Surgeon? Wife Saila Family and Wiki- A surgeon who spent four months of the pandemic separated from his family to work in Covid wards tragically died following his own nine-week fight against the virus.
Doctor Irfan Halim, a loving husband and devoted dad of four children all under the age of 12, was a talented surgeon at Swindon Hospital – having treated over 250,000 patients during his career.
Described by his heartbroken wife as “ten men in one body”, Dr Halim left his young family for work on Friday, September 10, but never made it back home, Wales Online reports.
With a “broken heart shattered in pieces beyond imagination”, Saila Halim said: “My beloved Irfan passed away on the Sunday, November 14 at 7.51pm peacefully whilst I held him in my arms whispering prayers and love into his ears along with his brother and sister surrounded by his beautiful friends.”
Who Was Dr. Irfan Halim Surgeon?
Mr. Irfan Halim is a highly esteemed and sought-after Consultant General and Laparoscopic Surgeon in London. From his private clinics; BMI The London Independent Hospital, The Blackheath Hospital, and BMI Hendon Hospitals as well as Highgate Hospital and Harley Street clinics, he offers the full range of General Surgical expertise including upper GI surgery, colorectal surgery, bariatric surgery, laparoscopic surgery, endoscopies and treats hernias.
He has a specialist interest in Virtual Reality surgery, medical education, and ultra-minimally invasive surgery. He holds one of the highest volume practices in the UK, seeing approximately 300 new patients on a monthly basis, and personally performs over 1200 procedures annually.
His outcomes, both short-term and long-term are excellent with supporting data acquired through regular audit work and his overall daycase procedure rate is over 99%. His outcomes also favour him as the surgeon of choice for most hospital staff members requiring general surgical advice or treatment for themselves or their family and friends.
Mr. Halim qualified in 2000 from Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals Medical School with prizes and distinctions and trained in general surgery with sub-specialization in laparoscopic gastrointestinal surgery on the North Thames Higher Surgical Rotation.
He completed his specialist training in GI surgery at UCL Hospitals, with additional specialist training in cancer surgery at the Royal Marsden Hospital and bariatric surgery at the Homerton Hospital. He won numerous awards, and in 2014 became a fellow to the Royal College of Surgeons England. He is also qualified in Law and holds a master’s in Surgical Technology from Imperial College London as well as an MBA (master’s in business administration) from the US.
Having previously worked as an NHS Consultant Surgeon at West Hertfordshire NHS Hospitals Trust and the North East London NHS Treatment Centre since 2016, Mr. Halim has recently moved into full-time private practice. He has a very large practice in day-case procedures including gallbladder, hernia surgeries, cosmetic skin procedures, and colorectal surgery with an impressive turnaround from consultation to completed treatment.
Mr. Irfan also offers courses to GP’s on topics such as hernia surgery, rectal bleeding, and hemorrhoids. He has published numerous textbooks and several textbook chapters about bariatric and general surgery as well as having taught on numerous courses over his career to date. He is also an article reviewer for BMJ Case Reports, The International Journal of Surgery, and The Journal of Vascular Surgery and Research.
Mr. Halim is a member of a number of organizations such as the British Medical Association, Association of Upper GI Surgeons-UK and British Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society-UK, Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) as well as the World Endoscopy Organisation (WEO). He is a highly sought-after speaker at major international conferences.
Dr Irfan Halim Death Cause
THE hero NHS doctor who died from Covid after months away from his family was just days away from boosters coming in, his wife has revealed.
Heartbroken Saila Halim has told how her hard-working husband was double jabbed and would have been eager to get his third dose.
But tragically Dr Irfan Halim, 45, caught the killer virus while tending to patients just days before the booster rollout began.
He had received his second jab in January and was then struck with Covid on September 10 – fighting the virus for nine weeks before tragically dying.
The beloved doctor has been remembered as a devoted father-of-four who worked tirelessly throughout his 25-year career treating more than 250,000 patients.
Devastated Salia said her partner went to work at Swindon Hospital and never came home.
She announced with a “broken heart shattered in pieces beyond imagination” that he had died.
The grieving wife told the Daily Mail: “My husband worked away from London and I’m not sure which vaccine he received but he was double vaccinated and always wore full PPE when he was on the wards.
“It’s a double tragedy for the family and we are in too much pain to consider anything else.”
She told how he died just two months after taking up work on the Covid ICUs at Great Western Hospital, Swindon.
It is thought he caught the virus before collapsing on a shift, and spent the next nine weeks seriously ill.
The 45-year-old dad was surrounded by his family on his last day.
Salia said: “I held him in my arms and whispered prayers and love. We have lost our hero. He was an incredible husband, father and son. He was a best friend to the whole family.
“We all feel empty and I’m not coping. He was my life, my world, my everything. Nothing could have prepared us for this.”
The doctor had been on the frontline of the Covid battle since its outbreak in 2020, and September 10 was just another day saving lives.
‘DOUBLE TRAGEDY’
A colleague said: “Being a fighter, he never gave up. He kept believing he would recover.”
A friend said that Dr Halim didn’t smoke or drink and was someone who just “helped people all the time”.
They also said he fought hard to be with his children, the youngest of whom is five, every day, and had dedicated 25 years his work in the NHS.
In a heartbreaking post on social media, Mrs Halim said: “Irfan you gave me 15 magical years as your wife, four beautiful children, wonderful memories that will last me until my remaining days in this world.
“You gave 25 dedicated years service to the NHS working as a Consultant General Surgeon.
“Please remember him in your prayers and duas and mountains of strength for his children for the pain of losing a wonderful, beloved father at such a tender age.
“Irfan you were not only my best friend but a best friend to all our children and so many others.”
You were the definition of service to others
Hash Syed
The medical community has been sharing their grief over the loss of the widely respected surgeon.
He held one of the highest volume practices in the UK, seeing approximately 300 new patients every month and performed over 1,200 procedures annually.
Hash Syed, a colleague who worked with Dr Halim building a new digital health platform, paid tribute: “I will cherish the fun we had building Entero at the Antler hub near Liverpool Street.
“Whether it be you riding around on your scooter, or our favourite burger bar.
“You were the definition of service to others, and believing in more. A man of many talents across being a doctor, a pilot and a lawyer.
“Most importantly, loving father and husband and great friend. ”
Mrs Halim also said: “He was the embodiment of ethics, unconditional friendship, a renaissance man of many skills, a scholar that has taught thousands.
“He was 10 men in one body.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up for Dr Halim’s family and has already raised more than £80,000.
Dr Irfan Halim Education
- MBA, Accelerated Program, Distance learning, Washington DC (2017-2018)
- FRCS, Royal College of Surgeons England (2014)
- GDL, The University of Law (2009-2010)
- DIC Diploma of Imperial College London (2006)
- MSc, Imperial College London (2002-2005)
- MBBS, Guy’s and St Thomas’ Medical School (1995-2000)
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