The Pharmaceutical
Journal Vol 267 No 7161 p247
18 August, 2001
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The Pharmaceutical
Journal Vol 267 No 7161 p247 |
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Furber On 31 July, Tony Houlder Furber, FRPharmS, of 14 Hallam Grange Crescent, Sheffield S10 4BA. Mr Furber registered in 1958. He was regional pharmaceutical officer for the Trent National Health Service region from 1980 until his retirement in 1991. In a tribute to the late Tony Houlder Furber, Mr R. H. LEACH writes: Many colleagues will be saddened to learn of the death of Tony Furber on 31 July following two years when complications of diabetes progressively incapacitated him. Tony’s career in the hospital service culminated in his appointment as regional pharmaceutical officer (RPhO) to the Trent Regional Hospital Board in 1980. I first met him in the 1960s when he moved to the Midlands, initially to Wolverhampton and later to his first appointment as chief pharmacist at the Warneford Hospital, Leamington Spa. Subsequently he managed the services at Selly Oak Hospital, Birmingham. Hospital pharmacy was undeveloped in those days and pharmacists had to have real enthusiasm, ability and good luck to develop services prior to the Noel Hall changes. Tony had those qualities and made an impact at each hospital where he worked. We met at Guild of Hospital Pharmacists and chief pharmacist meetings, and Tony made contributions on several fronts, particularly on quality control and ophthalmic matters. He secured an early Geigy fellowship to visit the United States to study hospital quality control procedures there, and later was awarded his MPhil at Bradford for a thesis on the organisation of hospital quality assurance. He was a member of the small group of chief pharmacists which recommended that the then Birmingham regional hospital board should fund a master of science course for hospital pharmacists through Aston University. This, one of the earliest, proved a very successful enterprise, assisting staff recruitment and retention and developing staff and services across the region. Tony then moved to become chief pharmacist at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary in 1973 and subsequently to Manchester as area pharmaceutical officer, based at Manchester Royal Infirmary. I was fortunate to retain contact with him during these appointments through the Association of Teaching Hospital Pharmacists. During this time he developed interests in the intravenous administration of fluids and published in this area. At Trent he continued the development of regional specialist services and developed a more strategic approach to service development across the region. I saw little of him during these years as RPhO, but he served as chairman of the Trent regional pharmaceutical supplies committee and was a member of the National Pharmaceutical Supplies Committee. He retired in 1991 as part of the NHS reorganisational changes. Tony made significant contributions to pharmacy throughout his career and the profession recognised this by the award of his fellowship of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. He was a regular contributor to The Pharmaceutical Journal, more recently to the “Broad Spectrum” column in particular. In retirement from the NHS Tony established a small consultancy, NHS Interface, which was primarily concerned with helping industrial contacts understand the continuing changes in the NHS and how they might modify or restructure their marketing and sales organisations in tune with such developments. Tony invited me to assist in a number of these projects and our last joint work was completed about a year ago. Tony was both a long established Rotarian and a justice of the peace, and was as enthusiastic in these activities as in pharmacy. He was an able, dedicated pharmacist and was always totally open and professional in all his dealings. He was a kind man, and he and his wife Joyce made many close friends. He was a good friend and an excellent professional colleague of mine over many years. He leaves behind two sons and their families, including five grandchildren. The world is a lesser place following his departure. |