Lord Bernard Ribeiro CBE

Areas of Interest

Health Care

Honorary Award

Honorary Doctor of Science, 2008

Biography

After qualifying at Middlesex Hospital Medical School in 1967, Bernard Ribeiro embarked on his career in surgery. Just five years later he was awarded the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. In 1979 he was appointed to Basildon Hospital as a consultant general surgeon with a special interest in urology and colorectal surgery. He pioneered the use of minimally invasive 'keyhole' surgery and helped to establish the Basildon & Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust's advanced laparoscopic unit.

An examiner in surgery for three university medical schools, his interest in undergraduate education contributed to the Trust achieving university status in 2002. Bernard also contributed to the Trust's successful bid for The Essex Cardiothoracic Centre at Basildon. The £60 million Centre opened in 2007 and includes specialist high-tech, operating theatres in which heart valve replacements and major lung surgery are carried out.

From 2005 to 2008, Bernard was the President of the Royal College of Surgeons and in April 2008 he officially retired from his post as Consultant General Surgeon at Basildon University Hospital. His contribution to medicine, as an 'outstanding' surgeon and voice of the profession, has been felt nationally and internationally. In 2004 he was awarded the CBE for his 'immeasurable' services to medicine, during a career that has spanned over 40 years. In December 2008, Bernard was appointed Knight Bachelor in the Queen's New Year's Honours List, for his services to medicine. In 2008 Bernard Ribeiro was awarded the Honorary degree of Doctor of Science.

Most recently, in December 2010 Bernard Ribeiro was appointed The Lord Ribeiro of Achimota in the Republic of Ghana and of Ovington in the County of Hampshire and in 2012 he was appointed Chairman of the Independent Reconfiguration Panel.

Citation

"It is my pleasure to read the citation for Bernard Ribeiro CBE for the award of Honorary Doctor of Science. Bernard Ribeiro CBE or 'Bernie' as he is known to friends and colleagues has recently celebrated his 'retirement' from a career that has spanned over 40 years in healthcare. His contribution to medicine, as an 'outstanding' surgeon and voice of the profession during the worst ever crisis to hit junior doctor training, has been felt, not only, locally, here in Essex - but nationally and internationally.

He 'officially' retired from his post as Consultant General Surgeon at Basildon University Hospital, a part of Basildon & Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, in March 2008. The Trust, at the time, described him as, 'one of their most distinguished and long-serving clinicians'. In addition to his timely retirement from hospital life - during the year the NHS is celebrating 60 years of service - he has also completed three highly proactive years as President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, a post he was appointed to in 2005. During this time, he has spoken out on some extremely controversial and sensitive subjects including, the shortage of cancer surgeons, the idea that surgery should be available 'locally', and, the very recent news, that hospital surgical death rates will be made public to monitor quality and give patients more freedom of choice.

After qualifying at Middlesex Hospital Medical School in 1967, Bernard embarked on his challenging but richly-rewarding career in surgery. Just five years later, but with many hours in theatre behind him, he was awarded the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. It was in 1979 that he was appointed to Basildon Hospital as a consultant general surgeon with a special interest in urology and colorectal surgery. He pioneered the use of invasive 'keyhole' surgery and helped to establish the Trust's advanced laparoscopic unit. An examiner in surgery for three university medical schools, his interest in undergraduate education contributed to the Trust achieving university status in 2002. He also contributed to the Trust's successful bid for The Essex Cardiothoracic Centre to be built at Basildon. The £60 million Centre, which opened last year, includes specialist high-tech, operating theatres where operations such as heart valve replacements and major lung surgery are carried out.

Friends and family, including his wife Elisabeth and their four children, were delighted when he was awarded the CBE for his 'immeasurable' services to medicine, in 2004. After retirement from his sometimes 'gruelling' career it would seem that Bernard should settle down and enjoy the quiet life, participating more in the sport of river fishing for which he is known, but thankfully he plans to continue to contribute to both medicine and society. Through his association with the Worshipful Company of Barbers in the City of London, he is working on a project that aims to encourage young people from deprived areas of the capital into medical careers. This is the man, who has excelled in using technology, and his remarkable skills as one of the country's leading surgeons, to save lives, and improve the quality of people's lives. And for this work he has won the admiration of both academics and students at Anglia Ruskin University. We applaud his great work, and his mission to modernise the route of others to a similarly long and enjoyable career in medicine.

Bernard Ribeiro CBE, I hereby invite the Vice Chancellor to confer upon you the award of Honorary Doctor of Science."