BENGALURU: A Bengaluru-based doctor is getting ready to leave for the UK after the government of that country gave a call for doctors to help the nation manage the COVID crisis and also sent a personal email to her. Dr Roopa Venkatesh, who has a UK residence permit and the licence to practice as a general practitioner there, is making plans to leave for the UK with her 13-year-old son Skanda, who wants to work there as a volunteer.
The Regional Passport Office is viewing this as a special case and is renewing her passport in a very short period. She will travel via any of the special flights that the UK government is organising. Roopa has been living in Bengaluru since July 2016 and has plans to open her own clinic. She lives in Rajarajeshwari Nagar with her husband Venkatesh, also a doctor with a license to practise in the UK. The couple has another son who is eight years old and a three-year-old daughter.
An MBBS graduate from Bangalore Medical College, she went to the UK in 2002 for her post-graduate degree and has lived there for 15 years. “With my years of experience as a frontline staffer in UK hospitals, I really think I can contribute much right now. So I have taken this tough decision to leave. I will not be recklessly risking myself though.
There is a huge demand for experienced staff on the teleconsultation front too and I have decided to opt for that role. It will not involve face to face meeting with patients,” Dr Roopa told The New Indian Express.
She has treated countless swine flu patients as well as victims of chemical warfare during the Iran-Iraq war in the UK. The UK wants her to work there until September at least. Regional Passport Officer Bharat Kumar Kuthati said, “Her passport was to expire in July. She submitted her completed application on Monday. Though we are not dealing with public requests, we are doing it for her as a special case bearing in mind the emergency involved in her trip. It will be given to her in a day or two.”