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Gisborne Recently, Keith Gisborne, FRPharmS, aged 91, of 20 Ashtree
Croft, Willaston, Neston CH64 2UJ. Mr Gisborne registered in 1942. He
was former principal pharmacist at Clatterbridge Hospital, Wirral, retiring
in 1981 after 41 years in the hospital service. (Tribute p537.)
Wood On 22 April, Robert Anderson Wood, FRPharmS, aged 71, of The Gables, 6 Hallowhill,
St Andrews, Fife KY16 8SF. Mr Wood registered in 1957. A former head of large
stores for Boots The Chemists, he had been a member of the Royal Pharmaceutical
Society’s Statutory Committee since 1995. (News
item p533; tribute p537.)
Wycherley On 6 April, John Arthur Eric Wycherley, MRPharmS, aged 95, of 29 Almond
Grove, Worksop, Nottinghamshire S80 1AU. Mr Wycherley registered in 1938.
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Tributes
Clapinski In a
tribute to the late Wieslaw
Gareth Clapinski (PJ, 28
April. p509), SEAN WOODWARD (North Staffordshire local pharmaceutical
committee and vice-chairman of the National Pharmacy Association) writes:
Gaz
Clapinski was a good friend who guided me through some challenging
times in the early years of owning my own pharmacy. He used to say, “Ring
me at any time”, and I knew he really meant any time.
What Gaz did not know about running one’s own pharmacy was probably not
worth knowing. Fortunately for me — and for a number of other young pharmacists — Gaz
was readily forthcoming with advice and support. My one regret is probably not
thanking him enough for his strong shoulder and sound advice.
Gaz was a larger-than-life kind of guy and the pharmacy contractors in North
Staffordshire were lucky contractors. The success of the North Staffordshire
LPC under Gaz’s secretarial guidance was largely due to his energy and
enthusiasm and his clear vision of where community pharmacy should sit within
the primary care team.
We were right on the cutting edge of pharmacy services and emergency call-outs.
Smoking cessation, into which Gaz put a huge effort — always trying to
quit himself — and projects such as domiciliary visits by pharmacists have
been services in North Staffordshire ever since.
All these ideas were possible because of the relationships that Gaz helped to
build with the then health authority, primary care groups and trusts. The personnel
in these organisations had the utmost respect for Gaz because of his knowledge
and professionalism. Above all, they knew he was passionate about the contribution
that community pharmacists could make to health care. This contribution is now
being recognised in all corners of primary care, and I think Gaz was proud to
have been involved in making it happen.
From the early 1980s, Gaz was an active member of the North Staffordshire branch
of the Pharmaceutical Society. He held the post of chairman from 1982 to 1984
and was public relations officer for many years. He was also secretary of the
highly successful British Pharmaceutical Conference held at Keele University
in 1989.
Gaz joined the LPC in 1986 and became secretary in 1995. I had the great pleasure
of working with him from 1991 to 2001, when he sold his pharmacy. In 1992, he
was also elected onto the NPA board and served as its chairman for 1998–99.
For six years he represented the NPA on the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating
Committee and made sure that the voice of the little independent community pharmacist
was hear loud and clear at this national level.
I used to wonder where Gaz found the time to do all this and still run a successful
pharmacy. I recall when he first gave me a lecture on the subject of customer
services and the importance of employing well-trained and pleasant staff. This
message is as important and relevant today as it was then.
Gaz always gave 100 per cent to everything he did for pharmacy, but he gave even
more to his customers, which is why he was always a special and highly regarded
community pharmacist. He was great at making people feel at ease and his down-to-earth
attitude made it easy to be his friends. Our many interesting debates on pharmacy
often spilled over into the bar of the local pub.
He was an extraordinary person who will be sadly missed by everyone whose lives
he touched.
Gaz leaves behind his wife Halina, daughters Lydia and Amanda and grandchildren “JJ” and
Nyah. JOHN D’ARCY, chief executive officer, National Pharmacy Association,
writes:
I was shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the death of Gaz
Clapinski. I worked with Gaz in his capacity as NPA member, NPA board
member and then NPA chairman.
Gaz was one of those guys — regretfully all too rare in pharmacy — who
you would describe as “larger than life”.
Having started his career with Merck Sharp & Dohme, Gaz “took the plunge”,
as he put it, and bought his own pharmacy in Burslem in 1980. He was a well liked
and respected pharmacist, dedicated to improving the health and well-being of
his local community.
He extended his professional activities beyond the pharmacy and was an active
and effective participant in local pharmacy politics at local pharmaceutical
committee and Royal Pharmaceutical Society branch level. In addition, he made
a significant contribution to the NPA as a member of its board of management
between 1992 and 2001.
The highlight of this was his year as chairman in 1998–99. Gaz took over
as chairman not long after Labour returned to power and was at the NPA helm just
after the launch of the NHS plan, “The new NHS: modern dependable”.
Gaz played a key role in steering the NPA through the process of getting recognition
for pharmacy into wider government policy setting. As part of this Gaz addressed
the then Secretary of State for Health, Frank Dobson, at the NPA’s triennial
dinner and in a hard-hitting speech made clear to the Department of Health the
shortcomings of not making full use of the skills of community pharmacy in health
policy and planning.
Gaz always worked hard and played even harder. He always struck me as a man
who treated life with the appropriate degree of balance. He is the only man
I have
known who listed real ale among his interests and even held his 50th birthday
party in a brewery (the invitation opened with “They said it couldn’t
be done”)!
He was also a dedicated family man who put his family above all else.
Gaz was an intelligent and articulate man who had a passion for life and for
pharmacy. He was a man of untiring energy who gave 100 per cent to everything
he did and who was always there when it mattered. I am proud to have worked
on a professional level with Gaz but also to have had the privilege to get
to know
him on a social level. He always provided wise counsel, went about business
in a robust and pragmatic manner and at all times retained a sense of humour.
Gaz’s passing is a sad loss for pharmacy and our thoughts go out to Hal,
Amanda and Lydia at this difficult time. GRAHAM SOUTHALL-EDWARDS writes:
It was with great sadness that I received
a telephone call nearly two weeks ago informing me of the sudden, unexpected,
tragic and
untimely death of my friend and colleague Gaz Clapinski, aged only 57 years.
Gaz was born in Aberystwyth, Wales, on 1 December 1949, being the son of Polish
parents; his first language was Polish, his second language was Welsh and he
only learnt English after he started school. He was educated in Cardiganshire
at the local comprehensive school and then at the University of Wales Institute
of Science and Technology in Cardiff, where he graduated with a degree of bachelor
of pharmacy, second class, first division, in 1971.
Gaz married his wife Halina on 26 August 1972 in Coventry, before registering
with the Pharmaceutical Society in December the same year. His first employment
was in industry with Merck Sharp & Dohme, but he soon moved to community
pharmacy in Cambridge, as manager of one pharmacy in a group of two.
In 1978, Gaz moved to the George Staples Group in Stoke-on-Trent, where I already
worked as manager of the Sneyd Green branch. I still well remember the day
of his arrival, when he and his wife walked into my shop at Milton Road and
through
to the upstairs flat with their children Lydia and Amanda, the latter cradled
in her mother’s arms. The following day their Datsun refused to start and
I eagerly assisted to get Gaz under way to the Shelton branch, where he had taken
over as manager.
That was the start of a friendship between my wife Diana and I and Gaz and
Hal, which has lasted through the intervening 30 years, despite our paths diverging
significantly for some 20 years after 1981.
Gaz soon showed that he had real commercial ability as a community pharmacist
by developing the Shelton pharmacy and building valuable links with the local
doctors, while extending the pharmacy’s service to 365 days a year, with
regular service until 10pm weekday evenings.
It was obvious that Gaz would one day need to find his own business and after
three years, he telephoned me one day in 1981 to say he had bought a pharmacy
just up the road from me in High Lane, Burslem. To help him set up, I sold
him my first Saab Turbo, an investment that proved just as worthwhile as the
business
he had purchased, as it later saved the lives of his wife and daughters when
their car was crushed between two heavy goods vehicles in a multiple accident
on the M6 on a day when (thankfully) the old car would again not start.
Gaz told me he would work for 20 years in High Lane and then retire. This is
exactly what he did, selling up in 2000. In the intervening years he was secretary
of the North Staffordshire Local Pharmaceutical Committee, a National Pharmacy
Association board member and NPA chairman at the end of the millennium. These
achievements are well documented by other tribute writers.
Despite his busy life as a successful proprietor and the many other professional
engagements and duties that he had, one thing very much impressed me and that
was his demonstrable love of and devotion to his wife and children. Gaz was
a real family man and the family never took second place. He was always there
for
them and was a tower of strength first to his immediate family and later to
his extended family and grandchildren, as his children graduated into successful
careers and grew into adults.
Gaz was a man who not only took care of his family, but also of all those around
him who depended upon him and these naturally included his customers, who were
always full of praise for the reliability of his caring services.
Retirement was of course not a realistic option for Gaz. He certainly made
a decision to leave pharmacy when he sold his business and lately he had registered
as a non-practising pharmacist, but he then turned to investment, improvement,
letting and general dealing in property, with similar success to that which
he
had enjoyed in his pharmacy days.
In 1985, I taught Gaz and Hal to ski and we met many times on the slopes in
the years that followed. The last time was at Obergurgl in 2004, when he infuriated
me by turning-up with a pair of carving skis, on which he was able to cut the
ice far better than I could on my old 205cm Renntigers, so much so that he
almost
left me behind. The next day I borrowed my son’s “carvers” and
turned up to try to take revenge, but Gaz proved that he had in fact become an
accomplished and able skier, as we raced down the piste, neck and neck the whole
day long.
I counted Gaz among three trusted lifetime friends and his death has been a
great personal loss to me and I wish to express my deepest sympathy to Halina,
Lydia
and Amanda.
Gisborne In a tribute to the late Keith
Gisborne, JOHN RICHARDSON
writes:
I first met Keith Gisborne when I came to work in Wirral Hospitals
in 1973. Keith was a larger than life character who served as chief pharmacist
and district pharmaceutical officer for the southern area of Wirral based
at Clatterbridge Hospital.
Before coming to Clatterbridge, Keith trained and worked at Nottingham
City General Hospital. He then moved to be chief pharmacist at Bury General
Hospital
before commencing duties at Clatterbridge General Hospital in 1954.
Keith served as contracts officer for the Mersey Regional Health Authority
for a number of years. He was an active member of the then Guild of Hospital
Pharmacists and served on the committee for the local branch before being chairman
in 1984–85 and subsequently auditor.
At Clatterbridge Keith built up a happy and loyal staff and was also instrumental
in building up a successful general manufacturing section.
His many interests included caravanning. He had a static caravan in Anglesey,
which he regularly visited but would also let to staff and friends. He enjoyed
a round of golf and served his local church as sidesman. He also enjoyed playing
the organ. Sadly, Keith lost his wife Freda some three years ago and only latterly
suffered ill health himself.
To his sons David and Andrew and their families, we offer our sincere condolences.
Wood In a tribute to the late Robert Anderson Wood,
BRYAN KIRKWOOD writes:
My good fortune has been to know and admire Bob
Wood
for the 25 years
since his return from the Boots operation in Canada. In the 1980s we served
on the standing committee of the Pharmaceutical General Council (Scotland),
of which he was vice-chairman at the time he left to head the to head the
Boots “large
stores” operation in Nottingham. He was impressively informed about
the elements of prescription pricing and the overall financing concerns of
pharmacy
contractors in Scotland. He would marshal the facts expertly, crunch the
numbers incisively and present his conclusions with clarity and authority.
In the mid-1990s he was appointed to the Pharmaceutical Society’s Statutory
Committee, on which we served together for 10 years. His contributions to the
inquiries were characterised by relevance, insight, mature judgements and courtesy.
Both in and out of the committee his colleagues enjoyed the rich mix of his
warm company, his lively conversation and his good humour.
For me there was the added reward from countless journeys back to Fife by
train and plane. With my early and extended experience in a “Boots family” plus
my association with one of his predecessors, John Ross, we had common ground
to explore — in the NHS, in the profession and our mutual friends and
acquaintances, in his holidaying in Europe and the Americas, and in the fortunes
of Scotland’s rugby (he was an inveterate attender at Murrayfield). Our
range was endless.
Importantly, there were events in recent times that I shall hold on to — a
sunny July golfing morning at Balcomie Links by Crail, a warm and relaxing
lunch at Balbirnie House last October, and a poem he composed and recited a
couple of years back, which William McGonagall could not have improved upon.
It was my privilege during his last months of illness to try to respond adequately
to the openness, dignity and courage of Bob and his wife Isobel. Her steadfast
support and expertise has been immense. I rejoice in the friendship of them
both. With sadness but equally with gratitude I extend to Isobel and the
family my sincere sympathy, caring thoughts and prayers. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal