John Powell

John Nevill Powell.

16th June 1934 - 4th November 2021

 

John was born in London ,the youngest of three children. He attended Epsom College followed by Clare College, Cambridge and did his clinical training at Guys Hospital. After house jobs there he started anaesthetics as an SHO in Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton, followed by a spell of  National Service at Catterick Camp. He took up a Registrar post at the Bristol Royal Infirmary and after a year rotating to Denver Colorado became Consultant Senior Lecturer in the newly opened University Department at Southmead Hospital.

He was involved with pioneering kidney transplantation in the South  West Region giving anaesthetics for the first hundred transplants.

In 1974 he became a full time NHS Consultant and was the first person to be given an ICU session. His special loves were obstetric and neonatal anaesthesia and he was very committed to supporting and teaching junior staff and medical students. He was inordinately proud of the fact that he never did a private case.

John developed a degenerative neurological condition which forced his retirement at 63. In spite  of awesome disability he remained gentle, kind, full of enthusiasm, and very funny to the end of his life. In spite of everything he had a splendid retirement enjoying life on his narrow boat into his eighties.

He leaves Isabel, his wife, two sisters three children, five grandchildren and one great grand child.