Charles Fletcher
b 1911, d 1996, professor of clinical epidemiology, London
Lambeth, London, 16/12/94
| ||
Lambeth, London, 16/12/94 | |
Eton and an Oxford rowing blue are unlikely backgrounds for the pioneer of good medical communication. But Charles Fletcher was at home with everybody whether the Welsh coalminers (during his important research on dust diseases of the lung) or his fellow researchers. He campaigned vigorously for doctors to talk clearly to one another and their patients. As the first television doctor he showed how to do it in the series "Your life in their hands." Colleagues will remember him especially for his public insouciance in suddenly rolling up a trouser leg and injecting himself with insulin to treat his longstanding diabetes. |