Birmingham surgeon's operating equipment taken in car theft
An on-call surgeon had to cancel two operations after his car containing vital equipment was stolen.
Ehab Bishay, a cardiothoracic surgeon, had his car stolen in Birmingham on Thursday. Inside were his operating loupes - custom-made glasses he needs to perform surgery. Two lung cancer patients could not be operated on on Saturday as a result. A Go Fund Me page has been set up to replace the items which cost over £4,000. Mr Bishay, who works at Heartlands Hospital and Priory Hospital in the city, said on social media that he was also having problems dealing with the insurance company and car leasing firm since the theft of his black Nissan Qashqai from his drive in Harborne. "I really wish that I didn't have to work weekends but for the last 28 years in the NHS I have," his said in the post. 'Something practical' "I would rather have practical gestures to help those who are just trying to serve in these difficult times and not a round of applause every Thursday." Mr Bishay said the operations were due to be carried out at the Priory Hospital, the only site in the region that is conducting operations on cancer patients due to Covid-19. Monisha Rajesh, who set up the fundraising page on Sunday, said the loupes were completely useless to another person. "How about we do something practical to show how grateful we are to people like Mr Bishay, and help him fund his new loupes so that he can swiftly go back to saving lives," she said. Mr Bishay said the original suppliers of his loupes had now despatched a loan pair to him. Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: newsonline.westmidlands@bbc.co.uk