In loving memory of Dr Saif Bangash

It is our sad duty to report the death of Dr Saifullah Bangash (known as Saif), a consultant psychiatrist at Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LYPFT), who died in his native Pakistan on Sunday 13 June 2021.

Saif was 38 years old and worked in the Trust’s Perinatal Mental Health Service. He contracted Covid-19 in the summer of 2020 and went on to develop Long Covid. In April 2021 he travelled to Pakistan to see his father. During this time his condition worsened and, despite receiving medical attention, he tragically died weeks later from lung complications related to Long Covid.

Saif was a strong advocate of the Covid-19 vaccination. In March 2021 he appeared in a short video (below) as part of the Trust’s #JabDone campaign to promote the uptake of the vaccination within ethnic minority communities.

Amanda Naylor, Operational Manager for Perinatal Services, said: “Saif had a very positive attitude and was a big part of our team. He was a very caring and supportive person and he did fantastic work promoting our service to diverse communities.

“To give you some insight to his generous nature, when he won a national essay competition earlier this year he kindly donated the prize money to his colleagues. He made a huge impact and will be sorely missed.”

Lead Consultant in the Trust’s Perinatal Mental Health Service, Dr Gopi Narayan, said: “We were thrilled when Saif returned to us in October 2020 as a Consultant Psychiatrist after spending part of his time as a Higher Trainee with the service. He cared about and valued this service and team and the families we provide a service for. His sad passing will be a huge loss for us and the closing statement in his prize-winning essay never felt truer:

‘In a perpetuating cycle of love, loss and life we must endure, assuredly never alone’.

“Thank you Saif, we will all miss you.”

Career highlights

Saif worked in medical and surgical posts as a House Officer in Pakistan in 2009-10 and undertook foundation training at Leeds University Medical School which he completed in 2012.

Saif worked in the NHS from January 2011. At LYPFT he worked as a Core Trainee in older people’s community services, children and young people’s services, forensics, learning disabilities, rehab and recovery and liaison psychiatry, and then with the Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

He qualified as a Member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (MRCPsych) in 2017.  That same year he briefly moved to Bradford District Care NHS Trust in General Adult Mental Health Services, before moving back to LYPFT’s Perinatal Service in October 2018, followed by PICU at Bradford in October 2019. He returned to LYPFT’s Perinatal Service in October 2020 to take up his first Consultant post.

Saif was one of the first cohort of doctors to complete the Royal College of Psychiatry’s Credential in Perinatal Psychiatry Programme. As a Higher Trainee he worked as an Honorary Psychiatry Specialty Tutor at the University of Leeds.

He was awarded the Quality Improvement Project of the Year at the National Association of Psychiatric Intensive Care and Low Secure Units Conference in 2018 for quality improvement work undertaken on PICU.

Saif was a passionate communicator and took time to raise awareness about the importance of talking about and normalising perinatal mental health within diverse communities. In July 2020 he appeared on local radio station Fever FM with colleague Balvinder Dosanjh – you can listen again on the Trust’s Soundcloud channel.

In March 2021 he won a prestigious national prize in a contest organised by the Royal College of Psychiatrists with a 1,500-word essay entitled How the COVID-19 pandemic has taught me to be a better psychiatrist. He appeared on a webinar panel with mental health advocate, actor and TV personality, Stephen Fry and former Labour spokesperson and mental health champion Alistair Campbell.

Go Fund Me appeal

Those who knew Saif will remember his positivity, his smiles, his humbleness and generous nature.

Many people have enquired about a memorial for Saif and with the kind permission of his family the service have set up a Go Fund Me page.

In the Islamic faith the provision of clean water is considered one of the most beneficial forms of charity and so the appeal will aim to fund a water well in an area of need in Pakistan, in Saif’s name.

Please feel free to make a donation.

Tributes from colleagues and friends

“Lots of people have talked about his warmth towards patients and colleagues. He was remembered for his positivity, his smile and that he was so valued on the team for his professionalism, courtesy and absolutely always being ready to help out.

“He was committed to excellence in his profession – completing his diploma from of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, quite a rare achievement for a perinatal consultant.”

Dr Julie Robinson, Professional Lead for Psychiatry and Consultant in Perinatal Psychiatry

 

“I got to know Saif in 2013 being core trainees in West Yorkshire and over the years formed a close friendship with him. Together we discovered being from same city, having multiple mutual friends and our passion for psychiatry while he went from being my junior to my senior over the years.

“I remember all the clinical assessment of skill and applied knowledge we did and long drives to give Mocks. Both Saif and I had our daughters few weeks apart in 2015 and bonded over those little madams. It has been an honour to work with him in the perinatal team where he will be sorely missed.

“The entire team is shocked and devastated beyond words can explain and everyone is trying to find a way to honour Saif.

“Saif was a humble, generous, compassionate and ever so helpful human being and we all thank him for his dedication to the field of psychiatry.

“I never expected to write these words and refer to him in the past tense but life throws challenges at us when we least expect them. In his recent prize winning essay Saif mentions a saying from Maya Angelou about using one hand to help yourself and one to help others – he truly lived his life on those lines of helping others.

“The great Maya Angelou also wrote that ultimately people will forget what you said and people will forget what you did, but that no one will ever forget how you made them feel. Saif you made people feel special with all your compliments, you made them laugh, you helped them without them asking, you cared for them. Anyone who met you will always remember your kindness and your lovely smile, you went too soon my dear brother.”

Verily to Allah we belong and to Him we shall return.

Dr Nazish Hashmi, Consultant Psychiatrist

 

“Saif was someone I looked up to. He was an inspirational doctor, who was passionate about perinatal mental health and making a difference. His patients were paramount and he would go above and beyond to support them. He was very supportive of his colleagues and would always be there with his cheeky, smiley personality ready to listen, guide and empower you to believe in yourself when ever in doubt.

“When Saif joined the Leeds Perinatal Service, he became my ‘media buddy’ immediately expressing an interest in wanting to support me with my role after making our very first radio debut together on Fever FM in July 2020. Where we both bravely stepped out of our comfort zones and reached out to the South Asian Communities of Leeds, raising the awareness of perinatal mental health illnesses within culturally diverse communities. Something which Saif was really passionate about and despite him feeling really anxious of his very first time on the radio, he absolutely loved it and smashed it of course! There was no holding him back or his film production talents.

“From then on we worked on many media projects together which I am extremely honoured and proud of. Saif’s creative knowledge and imagination was extraordinary and something I will really miss as we had so much fun coming up with crazy idea’s together about how we can create our next perinatal video and get the team involved. I hope one day to create this video in memory of Saif and to showcase all the hard work he put into this project so we can celebrate his achievements as his legacy will live on and will never be forgotten.

“Saif was a humble, kind, caring person with so many aspirations in life. It’s still hard to believe that he has gone and I will deeply miss our friendship and working with him.”

Balvinder Dosanjh, Clinical Engagement, Access & Inclusion Co-ordinator, Leeds Perinatal Mental Health Service