IME - Lewis W Headley Lectures

In 2008, the son and daughters of the late Lewis W Headley gifted £15,000 to the Institute of Medical Ethics, to endow an annual public lecture to commemorate their father's interest in medical ethics. Lewis W Headley was born in Ashford Kent in 1914. He ran the family wholesale grocery business from 1933 till 1980.  He was born into a Quaker family, was educated at Leighton Park School (a Quaker school in Reading) and remained an active Quaker until his death in 2006.

The first and second lectures were delivered at the 3rd (2009) and 4th (2010) annual conferences on medical ethics and law organised by the Institute of Medical Ethics and the British Medical Association.

The first lecture, on Establishing a Core Curriculum in Medical Ethics and Law - a Dean's View, was delivered by Professor Sam Leinster. The second lecture, on Humanity and Dignity in the Practice and Teaching of Medicine was delivered by Baroness Julia Neuberger.

***** The following is an extract from the Lewis W Headley Quaker Testimony:
As a conscientious citizen of Ashford, he served as chairman of the Ashford Chamber of Trade and as President of the Rotary Club, and was a member of the Council of Ashford School from 1947 until 2000. He was connected with local hospitals and the National Health Service from 1948 to 1998 in various capacities, notably as chairman of the Community Health Council and as a member of the William Harvey Hospital project team. He was chairman, too, of the South East Kent Research Ethics Committee, where he is remembered as being always calm, fair, courteous and dignified, and completely undaunted by medical jargon. He also gave blood on eighty-eight occasions, until he was forced to retire at the age of sixty-five.

***** The following was written shortly after Lewis' death, by the Hon. Jenefer Dean
Lewis had for many years been connected with the William Harvey Hospital and was well known and highly respected. When the first local research and Medical Ethics Committee was set up, Lewis was the obvious choice to be their lay member. Some years later it was felt that there should also be a lay woman and Lewis very kindly put my name forward. We had met through Stour Music and my work at the Ashford Citizens Advice Bureau. The meetings were very agreeable because they were held over a sandwich lunch so as to not waste too much of the doctors' valuable time. They were a distinguished gathering of medical and nursing experts and the meeting were often joined by other interesting doctors presenting their protocols to the committee. I remember Lewis telling me to listen carefully to what the doctors said to each other.
Not long after I joined the committee, Lewis was made Chairman. He was completely undaunted by the medical complications of some of the protocols and arguments and was brilliant at making jargon ridden doctors speak in plain language. He and I were sometimes brave enough to stand against projects the doctors wanted. Lewis felt it was vital that he and I stood up for the patient's feelings. He eventually retired at the age of 86 (a record for the NHS). I made him a cake for his last meeting which was joined by lots of former colleagues. They all admired him. He was always calm, fair, courteous and dignified. He was a very dear and impressive man.