George Godber
b
1908, chief medical officer, Department of Health
Cambridge, 30/09/94
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Cambridge, 30/09/94 | | Modesty is George Godber's main feature: he refuses to be called "the best chief medical officer the country ever had" or "one of the architect's of the National Health Service." Yet he is both, and without his work today's NHS would be very different. Godber put the deficiencies of prewar health care right, ensuring that specialists were evenly distributed, that general practitioners worked in teams in purpose built health centres, and that all doctors kept up to date in new educational departures. His other important initiatives included putting the contraceptive pill on prescription and public health campaigns, particularly against tobacco smoking. |