Dr Evan Osmond Leyshon Hoskins

Dr Evan Osmond Leyshon Hoskins TD MB ChB FRCP FRCR DMRD

Osmond Hoskins, who died suddenly on 5 December, 2002 will be remembered with affection by a wide range of friends. Born in Ystradgynlais in 1924 to a distinguished Welsh family he was educated initially in Wales but studied medicine in Edinburgh and later became a Member and then Fellow of the Edinburgh College of Physicians. He trained in radiology in Edinburgh and Aberdeen and later was a registrar in Cardiff. He became a consultant, first in Carmarthen and then, in 1966, at Guy's Hospital. He was thus at home in all parts of Great Britain. This wide loyalty was amplified by his military links. After service in the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards he became a keen member of the Territorial Army and also of the Cavalry Club.

11 November 1924 to 05 December 2002

When he joined the staff at Guy's he put his practical and administrative experience to use in improving the X-ray services at St Olave's Hospital, then part of the Guy's Group. He formed a firm partnership with Kenneth Maclean, a physician who had transferred some sessions to St Olave's and he regularly attended Kenneth's ward rounds. At that time he was interested in the then relatively new technique of the double contrast barium enema. It was through his development and advocacy of the method that it became a routine in the Guy's District.

The ability to see a need and develop a corresponding service was evident throughout his career. He became expert in the radiology of the middle and inner ear, at a time when CT scanning had not become available and this remained one of his particular interests, an expertise appreciated by his clinical colleagues. He was an early protagonist of the value of mammography in the investigation of breast disease and persuaded the breast clinic of its usefulness both in patients with known breast disease and as a screening procedure. His interest in the gastro-intestinal tract also extended to the small bowel, and at his urging the barium meal and follow-through was abandoned and a specific barium follow-through/small bowel enema list was introduced with a consequent improvement in the quality of small bowel studies. Later still he became expert in the CT diagnosis of disc disease but throughout remained a sound general radiologist.

Osmond Hoskins was one of the most clubbable of men, a loyal member of many societies and clubs including the Radiologists Visiting Club. He was widely knowledgeable on historical matters and was a Member of the Faculty of the History and Philosophy of Medicine and Pharmacy of the Society of Apothecaries. He was deeply interested in wine and this led, not only to his acquiring a good cellar but also to his serving on the Committee of Management of the Wine Society. In 1986, as he retired, he was elected President of the Section of Radiology of the Royal Society of Medicine.

In retirement he and his wife Phil moved to Wales and they immersed themselves in the rural life. He continued to come to London and it was on one such visit that, after a dinner at the Cavalry Club, he died suddenly. He leaves a wife, Phil, herself a retired anaesthetist, a daughter Clare who is a Fellow of this College and two sons, William and Robin.

Memoir authors: Hugh Saxton, John Reidy