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Sir George Edward Godber
Obituary
Sir George Edward Godber Celebrated UK Chief Medical Officer. Born in Willington, UK, on Aug 4, 1908, he died in Milton Keynes, UK, on Feb 7, 2009. The only debate about Sir George Godber’s position in the rank order of the 15 doctors who have occupied the role of UK Government Chief Medical Officer (CMO) is whether he was the greatest of them, or merely among the greatest. Either way, the post was one he occupied with distinction from 1960 to 1973. The variety of issues on which Godber left his mark makes it hard to single out just one or two principal achievements. The retired south Wales general practitioner Julian Tudor Hart, who first met Godber in the 1970s, opts for his efforts to redistribute medical specialists to areas of greatest need: “He channelled new specialists to the places that had never had them”. Tudor Hart also praises Godber’s recognition of the importance of general practice to the National Health Service (NHS). Indeed, Tudor Hart thinks that his realisation was greater even than that of most doctors themselves. “In both these matters he showed real leadership.” Someone who worked with Godber in the Department of Health—indeed was hired by him—is Geoffrey Rivett, originally a general practitioner and latterly a historian of the NHS. He too picks out Godber’s influence on primary care, particularly in the 1965 contract negotiations at a time when general practice was in a dire state and doctors were threatening mass resignation. Their new contract increased general practitioner pay by a third. “George fought like a Kilkenny cat to ensure that cash was found to make up for the years of underinvestment”, says Rivett. 804
Godber qualified from Oxford University, Oxford, UK, in 1933, but did only short stints in hospital medicine and general practice before enrolling at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine for a diploma in public health. He became a local medical officer of health in 1937, joined the then Ministry of Health the following year, and became deputy CMO in 1950. What drew him in this direction? “He told me that when he was a student he saw how poor people lived in London”, says Tudor Hart. “He also decided in favour of salaried employment because he didn’t like taking fees from people.” He was sure that reform of the medical system would happen, and he wanted to be inside the Ministry, as indeed he was, during the creation of the NHS. “Politically he was on the left, though not nearly as far to the left as he liked to think”, according to Tudor Hart. Much of Godber’s success, Rivett thinks, was attributable to his skill at spotting potential problems and acting to prevent them. “He had a shrewd eye for where the crisis would be in 5 years time if no one did anything.” He was also good at spotting new talent, and believed that you never developed policies for the future by consulting only people from the past. “Whenever he established a professional committee to talk about orthopaedics or whatever, the greybeards from the Colleges or the BMA would find a bright young senior registrar that George had put there”, recalls Rivett. Godber also believed it was important that staff in the Department of Health understood the nuts and bolts of the NHS. He himself had learned them during the 1940s while walking around the Sheffield area, the region allocated to him during a wartime national survey of hospitals. “He used to say that you can achieve anything in this place as long as you don’t insist on claiming the credit for it”, Rivett recalls. This worked with the campaign against tobacco, generally listed as another of Godber’s notable achievements. He first encouraged the Royal College of Physicians to report on smoking and lung cancer. Then, with the idea out into the public domain, the Government felt more able—and under greater obligation—to pursue it. “He was a lovely man”, says Tudor Hart. “He was a man who could inspire loyalty”, says Rivett. But an easy man to get along with? “If you were competent and could do your job, yes. But he didn’t tolerate the less than efficient”, says Rivett. The monocle he wore was not, as it might have appeared, some Woosterish affectation; in fact a childhood injury had left him blind in one eye. Rivett recalls the comment of a colleague of Godber’s when asked to rate his contribution. “There is a measuring scale of the quality of CMOs called the Godber. Nobody since his time has yet exceeded 0·5 Godbers.” Godber leaves two sons, Colin and Steve, and a daughter, Bridget.
Geoff Watts geoff@scileg.freeserve.co.uk
www.thelancet.com Vol 373 March 7, 2009
Sir George Edward Godber Celebrated UK Chief Medical Officer. Born in Willington, UK, on Aug 4, 1908, he died in Milton Keynes, UK, on Feb 7, 2009. The only debate about Sir George Godber’s position in the rank order of the 15 doctors who have occupied the role of UK Government Chief Medical Officer (CMO) is whether he was the greatest of them, or merely among the greatest. Either way, the post was one he occupied with distinction from 1960 to 1973. The variety of issues on which Godber left his mark makes it hard to single out just one or two principal achievements. The retired south Wales general practitioner Julian Tudor Hart, who first met Godber in the 1970s, opts for his efforts to redistribute medical specialists to areas of greatest need: “He channelled new specialists to the places that had never had them”. Tudor Hart also praises Godber’s recognition of the importance of general practice to the National Health Service (NHS). Indeed, Tudor Hart thinks that his realisation was greater even than that of most doctors themselves. “In both these matters he showed real leadership.” Someone who worked with Godber in the Department of Health—indeed was hired by him—is Geoffrey Rivett, originally a general practitioner and latterly a historian of the NHS. He too picks out Godber’s influence on primary care, particularly in the 1965 contract negotiations at a time when general practice was in a dire state and doctors were threatening mass resignation. Their new contract increased general practitioner pay by a third. “George fought like a Kilkenny cat to ensure that cash was found to make up for the years of underinvestment”, says Rivett. 804
Godber qualified from Oxford University, Oxford, UK, in 1933, but did only short stints in hospital medicine and general practice before enrolling at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine for a diploma in public health. He became a local medical officer of health in 1937, joined the then Ministry of Health the following year, and became deputy CMO in 1950. What drew him in this direction? “He told me that when he was a student he saw how poor people lived in London”, says Tudor Hart. “He also decided in favour of salaried employment because he didn’t like taking fees from people.” He was sure that reform of the medical system would happen, and he wanted to be inside the Ministry, as indeed he was, during the creation of the NHS. “Politically he was on the left, though not nearly as far to the left as he liked to think”, according to Tudor Hart. Much of Godber’s success, Rivett thinks, was attributable to his skill at spotting potential problems and acting to prevent them. “He had a shrewd eye for where the crisis would be in 5 years time if no one did anything.” He was also good at spotting new talent, and believed that you never developed policies for the future by consulting only people from the past. “Whenever he established a professional committee to talk about orthopaedics or whatever, the greybeards from the Colleges or the BMA would find a bright young senior registrar that George had put there”, recalls Rivett. Godber also believed it was important that staff in the Department of Health understood the nuts and bolts of the NHS. He himself had learned them during the 1940s while walking around the Sheffield area, the region allocated to him during a wartime national survey of hospitals. “He used to say that you can achieve anything in this place as long as you don’t insist on claiming the credit for it”, Rivett recalls. This worked with the campaign against tobacco, generally listed as another of Godber’s notable achievements. He first encouraged the Royal College of Physicians to report on smoking and lung cancer. Then, with the idea out into the public domain, the Government felt more able—and under greater obligation—to pursue it. “He was a lovely man”, says Tudor Hart. “He was a man who could inspire loyalty”, says Rivett. But an easy man to get along with? “If you were competent and could do your job, yes. But he didn’t tolerate the less than efficient”, says Rivett. The monocle he wore was not, as it might have appeared, some Woosterish affectation; in fact a childhood injury had left him blind in one eye. Rivett recalls the comment of a colleague of Godber’s when asked to rate his contribution. “There is a measuring scale of the quality of CMOs called the Godber. Nobody since his time has yet exceeded 0·5 Godbers.” Godber leaves two sons, Colin and Steve, and a daughter, Bridget.
Geoff Watts geoff@scileg.freeserve.co.uk
www.thelancet.com Vol 373 March 7, 2009