In the early 1980s I lived two doors down from Dr Denis Edwards, he in the centre right of Tony’s picture of Lockerbie, at the start of this piece. Denis grew up on Langley estate in North Manchester, married Sue, had kids & was the youngest consultant physician ever to have been appointed in Intensive Care, at Withington Hospital. He was small framed & wirey, and climbed mountains for fun. He piled into our kitchen with his daughter Francis on his shoulders of a Saturday morning & rarely spoke of work. He had a high pitched giggle that carried him along. We’d have pints in the Railway on Lapwing Lane, & he’d open up about his frustrations & his near zealot passion to improve treatment for the very sick. He preached nursing above technology. He was funny & mischievous, his mind nimble & quick.
His career was a rapid ascent, roped by deep passion & fierce intelligence. Yes, he was part of Tony’s SMART team, & an NHS whistleblower down the ears of Granada’s ‘World in Action’. His reputation amongst clinicians was global. He is largely responsible for the acclaim of the North West Cardiac Centre at Wythenshawe Hospital. Our last conversation was at the Tesco checkout in East Didsbury. I last saw Dr Denis, white haired & on crutches, going into an off-licence on Barlow Moor Road at 11am. Dr Denis Edwards retired prematurely in 1990 due to stress related ill-health. He died in 2012, aged 63. I missed his funeral.
Phil Griffin1 hr ago
In the early 1980s I lived two doors down from Dr Denis Edwards, he in the centre right of Tony’s picture of Lockerbie, at the start of this piece. Denis grew up on Langley estate in North Manchester, married Sue, had kids & was the youngest consultant physician ever to have been appointed in Intensive Care, at Withington Hospital. He was small framed & wirey, and climbed mountains for fun. He piled into our kitchen with his daughter Francis on his shoulders of a Saturday morning & rarely spoke of work. He had a high pitched giggle that carried him along. We’d have pints in the Railway on Lapwing Lane, & he’d open up about his frustrations & his near zealot passion to improve treatment for the very sick. He preached nursing above technology. He was funny & mischievous, his mind nimble & quick.
His career was a rapid ascent, roped by deep passion & fierce intelligence. Yes, he was part of Tony’s SMART team, & an NHS whistleblower down the ears of Granada’s ‘World in Action’. His reputation amongst clinicians was global. He is largely responsible for the acclaim of the North West Cardiac Centre at Wythenshawe Hospital. Our last conversation was at the Tesco checkout in East Didsbury. I last saw Dr Denis, white haired & on crutches, going into an off-licence on Barlow Moor Road at 11am. Dr Denis Edwards retired prematurely in 1990 due to stress related ill-health. He died in 2012, aged 63. I missed his funeral.
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A moving and very humbling piece. Thanks.
Incredibly moving article.