Dr Habib Patel Remembered

AKU lost one of its pioneers and most committed supporters when Dr Habib Patel, President of Aga Khan Hospital and Medical College Foundation (AKHMCF), passed away on September 26, 2004. Dr Patel was 92.

Born in Bombay in 1912 into a family dedicated to medicine for over a century, Dr Patel was an outstanding student at Grant Medical College, Bombay. He went on to train in surgery in India and the UK, and was appointed to the faculty of Grant Medical College in 1941. In 1947, Dr Patel responded positively to an invitation from the government of the newly independent state and migrated to Pakistan where he was appointed Professor of Surgery at Dow Medical College and Civil Hospital, Karachi.

The conditions of the time – paucity of faculty, rapid increase in the refugee population and resulting magnitude of clinical work, and the urgent need to teach undergraduates and train surgeons – spurred Dr Patel to work tirelessly, challenging to the full his broadly developed and versatile surgical skills. Dr Patel’s expertise and dedication to the profession were quickly recognised. He served five terms as President of the Pakistan Medical Association and was a Consulting Surgeon to the Pakistan Navy, where he held the rank of Honorary Surgeon Commander. Dr Patel was also a founding Fellow of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan.

During his tenure as President of Aga Khan Central Health Board for Pakistan (1955-1973), Dr Patel was responsible for setting up over 60 child and maternity care centres in areas both urban and remote. In Karachi, he was the driving force behind the extension of Janbai Maternity Home, establishment of a maternity home in Garden East and the securing of land for Karimabad Maternity Home, among other achievements of note.

In the AKU community, however, he is best remembered, both reverently and with affection, for his unflagging commitment to AKHMCF and the University. Dr Patel’s conviction of the need for quality medical education and practice in Pakistan was a seminal antecedent of AKU. Largely due to Dr Patel’s efforts, the Government of Pakistan gifted 64 acres of land in 1966 for a project that ultimately evolved into what is now AKU. A year later he was appointed President of AKHMCF, a position he held until the day he passed away, and was entrusted with the task of building a state-of-the-art teaching hospital, medical college and school of nursing of international standards.

This Herculean mission was accomplished nearly two decades later. Recognising Dr Patel’s role in the development of the University, His Highness the Aga Khan, Chancellor of AKU, conferred on him the award of Emeritus Professor of Surgery at the inauguration ceremony of AKU’s Health Sciences Centre in 1985. Dr Patel was also a distinguished member of the AKHMCF Policy Board.

Remembering Dr Patel, AKU President Shamsh Kassim-Lakha describes his mentor as “an outstanding surgeon and a visionary. He was there from the very beginning. He prepared the ground, helped lay the foundation and was one of the leading pioneers of the institution we see today. His contribution cannot be quantified and he will be forever missed, as a leader and friend of the institution as well as a personal friend,” concludes President Kassim-Lakha.

“He was a remarkable man with an outstanding knowledge of medicine and how it is practised in Pakistan. He was acutely aware of the health care needs of the country and how they should be met,” says Aziz Currimbhoy, Member, AKU Board of Trustees, who also had the privilege of being a member of the AKHMCF team headed by Dr Patel. “He brought an element of realism to the workings of the Foundation. He brought us down to earth and refrained us from reaching for the sky too soon. He knew more people than I can imagine, from physicians and academicians to policy makers and journalists. He was forthright, informal and had an excellent sense of humour,” recalls Currimbhoy.

Dr Patel was a caring family man who is survived by five daughters and numerous friends and admirers. He will long be remembered for his concern for the underprivileged and foundational contributions to the medical profession in Pakistan and to AKU in particular.