A retired consultant general surgeon has written a new book telling the story of the 50 years since he left India and arrived in the UK.
Pradip K Datta MBE MS FRCS, is a recipient of the Farquharson Award for his services in training overseas doctors entering the NHS. A former Honorary Secretary of the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh, Mr Datta established his world-renowned teaching course for surgeons in 1981.
Pradip K Datta MBE MS FRCS, is a recipient of the Farquharson Award for his services in training overseas doctors entering the NHS. A former Honorary Secretary of the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh, Mr Datta established his world-renowned teaching course for surgeons in 1981.
Mr Datta landed at Heathrow on July 13, 1967 and outlines his experiences since that day in his memoir which took him five years to write. It has 41 chapters, and all the titles are cryptic. The book outlines the trials, tribulations, and attainments of an Indian doctor in the UK. Explaining a little about his latest publication Mr Datta said:
“It is quite cryptic, including the name of the book. It was my first ever flight and I noticed on the fuselage of the aeroplane in Calcutta that the aircraft was called Nanga Parbat, the naked mountain.
“In those days all Air Indian aircraft were named after the Everest ranges, this was one of the highest ranges."
In 2017, Datta had a stroke which left him needing 24-hour care. He charts the despair of his difficult rehabilitation with frankness and courage, highlighting a desperate need for more psychological support for stroke sufferers. As with everything else, he manages to turn his terrible misfortune to some good – writing a book which is part inspiring life story, part love letter to the NHS, an institution which he moved halfway across the world to serve, and which eventually stepped up to care for him when he needed it most.