GPs and patients have paid tribute to a popular GP after she tragically drowned while on a family holiday in Tenerife.
Colleagues at the South Park and Heath Surgeries in Lincoln said they were shocked and devastated at the death of Dr Barathi Ravikumar, who died earlier this month (April 6).
Reports have suggested Dr Ravikumar was with another woman who also died as they tried to rescue their children who had been swept away by a wave.
In a tribute, Dr Mohammed Zubair Qureshi said Dr Ravikumar had been working at the surgery for almost four years as a full-time GP and had been a partner since 2012.
He said: ‘Our patients and staff have been deeply affected by this tragic loss and we have been flooded with cards and best wishes from patients who loved and respected her so much. There are many examples of how she made an extra effort to care – she would go after work in her own time to spend time with ill patients who were struggling to cope.
‘We all can never forget her and she has left us a legacy we will all cling on to, that will inspire not only doctors but anyone on how to live their life as a wonderful human being whose main concern was to help others and show kindness, concern and love.
‘She was simply an all-round excellent GP with very traditional values who would go out of her way to help. Any person would be delighted to have her as their family GP as she was so kind, compassionate and caring. She always put the needs of patients first and made them her primary concern.’
Dr Qureshi said that Dr Ravikumar was born in Sendamangalam in the south-eastern state of Tamil Nadu in India and had studied medicine at Salem Kumaramangalam Medical College before coming to England in 1998. She leaves a husband and two daughters.
