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Dr John
George Hibberd,
MB, ChB;
born February
23, 1945,
died March 17,2000
ON MARCH
17, Dr John (Johnny) Hibberd of Beith died in the Royal Alexandra
Infirmary, Paisley, six weeks after it was confirmed that he was
suffering from cancer. He was 55 years old.
He was a
well-known medical practitioner in Ayrshire and was the senior
partner at the Beith Health Centre (Hibberd, Peggie, McCarroll, and Isbister).
He
believed passionately in the National Health Service and that its
primary purpose was to prevent illness and cure the sick. As his
career progressed he had become increasingly frustrated by the
administrative complications imposed on the medical profession.
He started
work at Beith in 1973, became the senior partner in 1986, and
intended to remain there until his retirement. in addi-tion, he was
the police surgeon at Kilbirnie for a number of years and was the
medical officer at the RNAD (Beith) for almost two decades. |
He was
well respected within the medical profession and greatly loved by his
many patients. One of his colleagues, Dr Sheila McCarroll, described
him as "a very traditional family doctor in the widest
sense". She said that in addition to his med-ical training he
had a well-honed doctor's instinct together with an inquiring mind.
His medicine was very practical.
He was
born in Glasgow on February 23, 1945, the second son of Dr George
Hibberd who was later one of the founding professors of the
University of Strathclyde. He was always known to his family and
friends as "Johnny".
He was a
pupil at Allan Glen's School and then studied medicine at Glasgow
University. He graduated in 1972, followed by a year's residency at
the Vic-toria infirmary to complete his medical training.
His
principal leisure activity was curling. He was an active club curler
with an especial interest in outdoor curling. He was a past president
of the |
Reform
Curling Club and known to many within the curling fraternity in
Scotland. Sheriff David Smith of Kilmarnock, a close friend for more
than 30 years, said of him: "He was a good enthusiastic curler
with a robust sense of humour and was the most delightful
company." He was also a keen golfer and a member of the
Kilmacolm and Lamlash clubs.
He married
Carolyn Derby in 1971 and she, too, was an active curler and golfer.
She gave
him great support throughout his career and social life and they were
delighted when she gave birth to their son, David, in 1989. They
travelled widely during their family holi-days, but their mandatory
vaca-tion was always three weeks at Lamlash in Arran, starting around mid-July.
Dr
Johnny's popularity was demonstrated at his funeral. One thousand
people attended the ser-vice at Beith High Church and 200 others
joined the family at Paisley Crematorium. |
His
practical approach to med-
icine and
his ability to handle people were summed up by a grateful patient in
the pub after the funeral. One pleasant Saturday afternoon in the
springtime the patient started the annual renovation of his house. At
about 5.30pm he toppled from his ladder and injured himself as he
landed on the pavement - and then the ladder and the can of paint
fell upon him directly.
Neighbours
rushed to help and up went the cry, "Get Dr Hibberd", who
was found at his home where he was entertaining a few local worthies
instead of
rushing out with his medical bag he asked for full details of the
incident and then went to summon an ambulance. As he did so he
shouted to his guests: "Will you switch on the teletext and
screen the football results please?"
This was
done rather grudg-ingly while he spoke to the ambulance controller
and when he returned he studied the screen in silence and made notes
before disappearing again to the telephone.
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The entire
company was aghast at this apparent indifference to the plight of the
injured man.
When he
returned he was assailed with demands that he should go immediately
to his aid.
Johnny
responded by saying "You are watching practical medicine in
action. I know the man, know his house, and you have described his
injuries. I have mobilised an ambulance and given instructions about
the equipment needed, but, more importantly, I have decided where I
should send him."
The
listeners were taken aback as he pronounced: "On a Satur-day in
Scotland, the workload of the casualty units depends on the football
results. In my practice area, if St Mirren are playing all home
accident patients are sent to Kilmarnock!"
He was
examining the patient when the ambulance arrived Mercifully, St
Mirren were playing an away match so the patient was admitted to A
and E at Paisley. He made a complete recovery and still enjoys
telling his unusual story.
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