Obituary: Professor Bill Gillespie OBE

Professor Bill Gillespie was instrumental in the establishment and development of Hull York Medical School.

Professor Bill Gillespie became founding Dean of Hull York Medical School in 2002.

An orthopaedic surgeon with a passion for medical education, Bill began his medical career in Edinburgh in 1964.Following his graduation from the University of Edinburgh, he worked in hospitals in Edinburgh and at the University until 1973 when he left to spend a year in Aukland. What followed was a successful career in orthopaedic surgery in Britain, and further afield in New Zealand and Australia.

In 1981, after a brief return to Edinburgh, Bill became the first Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Christchurch School of Medicine, of the University of Otago. Then in 1989 he became Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Newcastle, New South Wales, and Director of Orthopaedic Services at the John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle. During this time, Professor Gillespie developed programmes for new medical schools and also encouraged doctors to develop teaching roles alongside their clinical duties.

In 1993, he returned to Edinburgh and became George Harrison Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Head of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Edinburgh and Honorary Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and the Royal Hospital for Sick Children.

During his career, Bill held many external roles including being a member of the Education Committee of the Medical Council of New Zealand; Trustee of the New Zealand Medical Education Trust; Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh; Fellow in Orthopaedic Surgery of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. He was also a key member of the Cochrane research collaboration, an international group with a worldwide reputation for health research and was Coordinating Editor of the Cochrane Musculoskeletal Injuries Collaborative Review Group from 1995 onwards. However, medical education remained a common thread.

Following four years as Dean of Dunedin School of Medicine, he joined Hull York Medical School as Dean in 2002. His experience of working in medical schools on multiple sites and in managing the interface between universities and health systems meant he was well placed to take on the role of Founding Dean of the joint medical school of the universities of Hull and York. Bill was instrumental in establishing the School as a different kind of medical school – one which offered student-centred medical education focused on problem-based learning, early and sustained clinical experience across primary and secondary care and widening participation. He was also clear that the School should make a significant contribution to the health, and the healthcare-community, of the local region and supported the development of multiple health related research units in the School.