Contemporaries said my husband, Geoff Hinchley, who has died aged 56, was so talented he could have excelled in any medical specialism. That he chose accident and emergency had much to do with prevailing attitudes in the 1980s towards gay doctors.
Born in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, the son of Derek, an electrical linesman and factory supervisor, and Margaret (nee Platt), a nurse, Geoff went to Barrow boys’ grammar school, where he excelled academically and in sport. He then studied medicine at Charing Cross hospital, London. He was gregarious – running the student bar and compiling a notorious anthology of rugby songs – but always gentle and soft-spoken too.
And he was entirely serious about his career. Junior posts in Jersey, Charing Cross and Plymouth were followed by an interlude as ship’s doctor aboard the liner Ocean Pearl, during which he witnessed the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square massacre. The experience affected him deeply.
We met in 1990, settling in Derby, where Geoff became registrar at the Derbyshire Royal Infirmary. The A&E team there proved highly gay-friendly, and enduring friendships were forged. Geoff somehow found time to acquire a degree in medical law and to volunteer with the Derby Friend LGBT helpline.
He finally became a consultant at Chase Farm hospital in Enfield, north London, in 1995, and was clinical director of emergency services there for 11 years. He remained with the trust – latterly at Barnet– until illness forced him to retire.
A lifelong Labour supporter, Geoff was Chris Smith’s fundraiser in Islington South at the time of the 1997 landslide. He stuck with Labour despite doubts over the Iraq war and was equally committed to the British Medical Association, serving on several committees and as a member of BMA council.
Geoff was a caring mentor to his junior colleagues, but his passion for medical education took official form in 2008 when he became head of the London School of Emergency Medicine. He revolutionised the allocation of trainees across the capital, so that it was no longer based on historical precedent or old loyalties. His groundbreaking reforms generated some opposition but also great acclaim: as a tribute to his achievement, the London school is to rename its principal auditorium after him.
Diagnosed with myeloma in 2013, Geoff faced his illness with determination but also with realism. He had a particularly virulent form of the disease, yet managed a full and active life style almost to the end. His final wish was to return home to Cumbria and despite the unexpected rapidity of his decline, his wish was granted.
He is survived by me and by his parents, his siblings, Christine, Keith and Alison, and his nephew, Adam, and niece, Megan.
