The Pioneers - Dr. Chaand Nagpaul CBE In Fireside chat with Professor Barnie Choudhury  Event

 

Celebrating the inspirational lives of south Asians in the UK

Friday 26 February 2021, 1 pm (GMT) via Zoom 

The University of Southampton’s India Centre, in association with Asian Media Group, Eastern Eye, India Business Group and UKRI, are proud to invite you to join Dr Chaand Nagpaul CBE, currently the Chair of Council of British Medical Association (BMA) and the first Asian and ethnic communities to become the Chairman of the British Medical Association (BMA). This fireside chat is the second in the series of The Pioneers Project, launched in January 2021, which focuses on researching the untold inspirational biographies of South Asian diaspora in Britain.

Dr. Nagpaul, a General Practitioner and a Fellow of Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), has been a Senior Partner in his clinical practice in Stanmore, North London, where he served the local community passionately for nearly three decades. He has been a member of the BMA council for the last 12 years, and was subsequently elected to the post of chair of BMA council in July 2017. He was also a member of General Practitioners Committee (GPC) since 1996, and GPC negotiator between 2007 and 2013.

Dr. Nagpaul has been at the forefront of BMA leadership in safeguarding and enhancing the quality and reputation of the UK National Health Service (NHS). He vehemently campaigned against the immigration cap on overseas doctors from outside the European Union, imposed by the then Home Secretary Amber Rudd, reiterating the need to nurture and preserve talent and diversity in UK’s health workforce. He stood firmly against the proposal to privatise NHS, commenting “privatisation could undermine trust between patient and doctor, and the patient would not know whether actions were based on financial motives” further stressing that “trust is fundamental to the doctor-patient relationship and a central value of the NHS.” He advocated the need for integrating a learning culture in the NHS instead of a blame culture.

Dr. Nagpaul has been vocal in pointing out the urgency to tackle health inequalities as a means to improving population health outcomes in Britain. He stressed the need for promoting quality health education and culturally appropriate health messaging targeting the Black Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities. At one of the Covid-19 roundtable hosted by Eastern Eye in May last year, Dr. Nagpaul highlighted the existence of naked inequalities in the NHS, and commented “We believe there should be a risk assessment of all workers who could be exposed to the virus to make sure that BAME status is considered a risk factor.”

Dr. Nagpaul has proactively engaged in hard talks and debates about NHS reforms and more frequently since the Covid-19 pandemic at both national and international news channels. He is the recipient of several national awards and honours. The Pulse Magazine voted Dr. Nagpaul as the most powerful and influential GP in the UK. He was named in the Sunday Times top 500 list of most influential people in Britain. In 2015, Dr. Nagpaul received the Queens honour, and was awarded a CBE for his dedication and outstanding services to improving primary care in the UK.