Tributes paid to 'tireless' East Durham GP Dr Joseph Chandy who changed thinking for B12 deficiency

Dr Joseph Chandy, who arrived in Horden in 1970 from India, died aged 82 on December 20 surrounded by his loving family.

As well as being a local GP in East Durham for over 45 years, Dr Chandy achieved global prominence for his passion in treating vitamin B12 deficiency.

His belief around how it is diagnosed helped thousands of people and led to the NHS reconsidering its position on the condition.

Dr Chandy’s work on the subject was picked up by TV and radio, including a BBC1 Inside Out special.

He offered his book Vitamin B12 in Clinical Practice, published in 2019, free worldwide and at one point was the most sought after book in Amazon’s health category.

During the 1980s miners’ strike, Dr Chandy gave work to miners to assist their families.

After the coal closure he risked everything to make the single largest investment in Horden to build an award-winning care home for the elderly and a new state-of-the-art surgery.

After selling the home, he remained as a GP Practitioner in Horden working six days a week until finally retiring in 2015 aged 75.

He passed the GP practice onto his son Joseph, the current managing partner, and his grandson, Joshua Chandy, also works in the practice.

There has been a massive outpouring of love and respect on social media for Dr Chandy from his patients, people from the North East and worldwide.

Joseph Jnr said: "The depth and content of the comments posted are truly moving and the whole family are overwhelmed at this outpouring.

"My father believed he was 'born to serve' and he worked tirelessly for his patients and community and was truly dedicated to his work."

Dr Chandy is survived by his wife Alphonse, children Joseph Jnr, Paul and Leanne as well as six grandchildren.

The family invite the public to join them in a celebration of his life at his funeral at noon on Friday, January 12, at Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church, Peterlee.

There will be a procession and drive by at Fourth Street, Horden, where Dr Chandy worked, and where the community are invited to line the streets.

An online memorial book is available at https://rememberancebook.net/book/joseph-chandy-snr/