A doctor who warned the prime minister about the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) for NHS workers has died after contracting coronavirus.

Romford Recorder: Dr Abdul Mabud Chowdhury. Picture: Golam Rahat Khan/PADr Abdul Mabud Chowdhury. Picture: Golam Rahat Khan/PA

Consultant urologist Abdul Mabud Chowdhury, 53, died at Queen’s Hospital, Romford, on Wednesday night, more than two weeks after being taken to hospital on March 23.

Just five days before being admitted, Dr Chowdhury wrote a Facebook post asking Boris Johnson to urgently provide every NHS worker with PPE.

In the post on March 18, he wrote: “People appreciate us and salute us for our rewarding job which are very inspirational but I would like to say we have to protect ourselves and our families /kids in this global disaster/crisis by using appropriate PPE and remedies.”

Family friend doctor Golam Rahat Khan said Dr Chowdhury had been worried about coronavirus “long before” it reached the UK.

“He was telling me and other friends that coronavirus was very dangerous,” he said.

Dr Khan, 45, who has known Dr Chowdhury for nearly 20 years, described him as a “life-loving person”.

He added: “He liked singing and liked our own Bengali culture and loved English heritage.

“He was so caring, he would call us very often to come to his house.

“I last saw him on February 1 at my house for my son’s eighth birthday.”

Dr Khan said none of Dr Chowdhury’s relatives were with him when he died at around 10.35pm.

His son Intisar Chowdhury, 18, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that his father - who worked at Homerton University Hospital - was in “such pain” in hospital and unable to communicate with his family when he wrote the appeal.

His son said: “He wrote that post while he was in that state, just because of how much he cared about his co-workers, and the courage my dad had to point out something wrong that the government was doing, which I’m so proud to say that he was able to do.

“Even in his state, he did that, and I’m glad that even though I only found out about it yesterday, I’m not surprised, I genuinely am not surprised, because he is a man of the people.”

Mr Chowdhury said his father was “unfortunately not going to be the last NHS frontline worker to die” during the outbreak.

“I’m glad it is getting the attention now that it needs to protect NHS workers on the front line because it pains me to say that my father is not the first and he is unfortunately not going to be the last NHS frontline worker to die,” he said.

“If there is anything we can do to minimise that from happening as much as possible, that’s all we need to do.

“I want everyone to remember him for the kind and compassionate hero he was, because he was a hero.

“He started a conversation that I hope does not end for a while - does not end ever.”