Timothy Andrew Plunkett

Timothy Andrew Plunkett

Medical oncologist London (b 23 May 1968; q London 1992), d 15 January 2005.

Tim Plunkett was an exceptionally gifted doctor who, in his short career, achieved a remarkable amount and became recognised as being among the finest of Guy’s physicians.

His enormous potential became clear early on in his student days when he seemed effortlessly to acquire a detailed knowledge and thorough understanding of medicine, winning many prizes and scholarships. He was editor of the Guy’s Gazette and took on other extra-curricular activities with apparent ease. This did not interfere at all with his studies, attested by him gaining distinctions in the final examinations. One of his notable and more esoteric projects was to research and write two succinct papers on the current state of the human genome project and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome for a law lord so that his lordship could deliver an important address to an international congress on life assurance medicine.

As a young hospital doctor, his clinical ability and organisational skills were so good that the more senior doctors on his firms found little need to provide him with supervision. He quickly became an enthusiastic and valued teacher of both undergraduate and postgraduate students.

He chose medical oncology as his specialty and undertook laboratory research in the field of tumour immunology, which led to the award of PhD. He used both molecular biological and cellular immunological methods to investigate inter alia the possibility of developing therapeutic vaccines for the control of cancer. He also wrote clinical research papers on a variety of other oncological subjects, in particular on metastatic bone disease. He was an author of over 30 publications, an astonishing achievement for one yet to be a consultant. His work had begun to gain wide recognition, reflected in invitations to address international meetings.

Although Tim’s elegant demeanour was reminiscent of older physicians, he was a serious practitioner of modern approaches to audit and clinical governance. He conducted many projects in both general and oncological medicine, producing reports of great value to his medical, nursing, and managerial colleagues.

While an acting consultant and about to be appointed to a permanent post to continue his already brilliant career, he was struck by illness. After many months, thanks largely to the efforts of his loving wife, Caron, and the care that he received at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Tim made sufficient recovery to return home. During his long stay in hospital, their first child James had been born. He was a huge source of strength and comfort to Tim whose final days at home were ones of tranquillity and contentment in the company of the family he adored.

Tim Plunkett was a kind, courteous, and enormously accomplished physician with a marvellous sense of humour. He was held in the highest esteem and affection by his colleagues and patients. His loss to medicine is immense and we miss him greatly. [Robert Rubens]