Heartfelt tributes have been paid to a 'legendary' doctor who has been in County Durham with his family for over 50 years.
Dr Joseph Chandy, 82, who moved to Horden, East Durham in 1970 from his birthplace Kerala, India, died on December 20, 2023, with his loving family around him.
Since his death, there has been an outpouring of tributes from his patients, people from the North East and worldwide.
As well as being a local GP in his community of East Durham for over 45 years he also came to prominence globally regarding his passion for treating B12 deficiency.
His belief that this condition should not just be diagnosed and treated based on blood result markers alone but by also considering symptoms when making a diagnosis was at the time not within the established guidelines.
His work in raising the profile to help thousands of patients consider a change in diagnosing this condition was picked up by TV and radio and made the NHS reconsider its position.
Dr Chandy's work was later published in a book 'Vitamin B12 in Clinical Practice' in 2019 which both documented the stark evidence and case studies behind his findings as well as his struggle to gain acceptance and change of practice for b12 deficiency.
He offered this book for free worldwide, and, at one point, it was the most sought-after book in the Amazon health category.
His story was also featured on a BBC1 special for Inside Out and highlighted the stories of the patients whose lives were dramatically turned around due to Dr Chandy's persistence to make a difference.
Tens of thousands of people have watched this programme on YouTube since it was aired and endless comments on how his work had helped others feature below the film.
Professor Emeritus of Pharmacology at the University of Oxford, David Smith, has endorsed his work which he says in the foreword of the book
"This book shines throughout with Dr Chandy's devotion to the well-being of the patient and it should be read by all GPs".
Dr Chandy lived for his community of Horden.
During the miner's strike, he gave work to miners to assist their families.
After the coal closure in 1988, he risked everything to make the single largest investment in Horden to purpose-build an award-winning care home for the elderly residents and a brand-new state-of-the-art surgery.
After selling the home, he remained as a GP Practitioner and worked tirelessly six days a week until the age of 75 years before retiring in 2015.
He supported his doctor peers in the East Durham area by developing Peterlee Health Centre as a sustainable centre for health care services and also creating the first GP Out of Hours service from this centre.
In 2014, he saved a local community centre, the Roseby Road Well-being Centre from closure which now serves all ages of the community.
He then passed the GP practice on to his son Mr Joseph Chandy, the current Managing Partner and his grandson Joshua Chandy is also working in the practice making this three generations serving the East Durham community.
Joseph said: "Rarely have I seen this level of comments of people openly saying how he touched their lives.
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“The depth and content of the comments posted are truly moving and the whole family are overwhelmed by this outpouring.
“My father believed he was 'born to serve' and he worked tirelessly for his patients and community and was truly dedicated to his work"
Dr Chandy is survived by his wife Alphonse, children Joseph Jnr, Paul, Leanne and six Grandchildren
His funeral will take place on Friday, January 12, 2024, at midday at Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church, Westway, Peterlee.
There will be a procession/drive-by of the funeral cortege at Fourth Street Horden where he worked before the church ceremony and the family are inviting the community to be part of this as another opportunity to pay their respects.
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