Ed Howarth, Consultant in Fetal Maternal Medicine at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, died on August 6, 2010 aged 47 from complications following a bone marrow transplant as part of treatment for lymphoma.
Ed was born in Belfast and moved to England with his family. He attended secondary school in Cornwall and graduated MBBS Dundee in 1986. He met his wife Wendy a nurse, who he married 14 weeks later while working as a House Officer in Middlesbrough. Their close marriage was a much admired part of Ed’s persona.
His initial interest was surgery, but during his SHO surgical rotation in Nottinghamshire he quickly realised that his interest was really in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. With tremendous support from senior colleagues in Derby he obtained a Registrar’s post in O & G rotating between Boston and Leicester. He was later to be the first of two trainees appointed to the then newly approved Subspecialty Training Programme in Fetal Maternal Medicine in Leicester. His attention to detail, good technical skills and excellent communication with patients meant he performed very highly in the programme. He developed strong links with the Perinatal Epidemiology Unit in the University of Leicester; links which he subsequently formalised as a consultant.
As a consultant he was highly respected and esteemed for his rigorous approach to clinical care, commitment to teaching, and for his common touch. He is mourned by his senior and junior colleagues, consultants all over the country who he trained and inspired, midwives, secretaries, MCA’s and other support staff and, of course, his patients.
As a manager, his focus was always on enabling patient care and access to develop, supporting staff and raising the profile of the speciality at Trust and national level. His abilities were widely acknowledged and respected. He was also generous of his time with friends
He leaves behind his widow Wendy, daughters Charlotte and Amelia and 2 grand-daughters. He was very proud of his family and they were a strong unit. His loss at so young an age is keenly felt by all of us, and he is much missed.
Christina Oppenheimer