Community invited to pay its respects at funeral of much-loved legendary GP Dr Joseph Chandy

The funeral of much-loved and respected GP, Dr Joseph Chandy, will take place midday tomorrow (Friday, January 12) at Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church in Peterlee.

Dr Chandy, 82, passed away on 20 December 2023 with his loving family around him.

Born in Kerala in India, Dr Chandy moved to Horden, East Durham, in 1970 where he served as a GP for the village's community for 46 years before finally retiring at the age of 75.

The dedicated physician worked six days a week right up until his retirement and gained legendary status in the East Durham area after providing work for local miners during the miners' strikes and playing a pivotal role in improving health care facilities for the community.

In 1988 Dr Chandy built what is now the Jack Dormand Care Home, providing a much needed care facility for the elderly in Horden and the surrounding area.

At the same time he also created a new state-of-the-art healthcare surgery for the village which he continued to operate his GP practice from until he passed it in on to his son Mr Joseph Chandy, the current managing partner, and his grandson Joshua Chandy.

Dr Chandy's passing has caused an outpouring of respect and gratitude from his former patients and the wider community.

Joseph said: "Rarely have I seen this level of comments of people openly saying how he touched their lives. 

“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 also played a leading role in developing Peterlee Health Centre, including the first GP Out of Hours service .

Vehemently passionate about the people he served, in 2014 Dr Chandy saved a local community centre, the Roseby Road Well-being centre, from closure.

However, it was not just locally where the talented GP rose to prominence.

Dr Chandy became renowned throughout the world for his pioneering work in treating B12 vitamin deficiency conditions such as pernicious anaemia.

His belief that this condition should not just be diagnosed and treated based on blood result markers alone but by also considering symptoms when making a diagnosis was at the time not within the established guidelines.

His work in raising the profile to help thousands of physicians consider a change in diagnosing this condition was picked up by TV and radio and subsequently made the NHS reconsider its position.

Dr Chandy's work was later published in a book 'Vitamin B12 in Clinical Practice' in 2019 which both documented the stark evidence and case studies behind his findings as well as his struggle to gain acceptance and change of practice for B12 deficiency conditions. 

He offered this book for free worldwide and at one point it was the most sought-after book in the Amazon health category.

Professor Emeritus of Pharmacology at the University of Oxford,  David Smith, has endorsed Dr Chandy's pioneering findings.

He said: "This book shines throughout with Dr Chandy's devotion to the well-being of the patient and it should be read by all GPs".

Dr Chandy is survived by his wife Alphonse, children Joseph Jnr, Paul, Leanne and six Grandchildren

The family are inviting the public to join them in a celebration of his life.

There will be a procession of the funeral cortege at Fourth Street Horden prior to the church ceremony and the family are inviting the community to be part of this as another opportunity to pay their respects.  

An online memorial book to capture forever how Dr Chandy touched the lives of the patients he served is now available for people to leave their personal comments.