Dr Rodney Charles Michell
Dr Rodney Charles Michell MB.BS London 1950 MRCP London 1954 DMRD 1957 FFR (now FRCR) 1959 FRCR 1976
Rodney Charles Michell was a Consultant Radiologist at the Royal Hampshire Country Hospital in Winchester from August 1960 until his retirement in 1992. For 24 of those 32 years (i.e. 75% of his consultant life) he was one of a team of only two, in a department that today keeps seven Radiologists busy.
Rodney was born in Broken Hill, Australia and moved to the UK in 1937 at the age of nine. He proudly retained his Australia passport despite such inconveniences as separate passport queues from his wife and family (who held British passports), at airports. Perhaps this was an advantage when his children were small!
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21 June 1928 to 29 November 2001
Rodney was attracted to medicine through his Father who was a General Practitioner in Broken Hill Australia and subsequently London. He attended Lewes County School for boys in Sussex and then went on to study medicine at Guy's Hospital, obtaining his MB,BS London in 1950. He became a medical specialist in the Royal Army Medical Corps from 1951 to 1955, serving as a Medical Officer, Brigade of Guards, and subsequently Office in Command (Major) Medical Division, British Military Hospital, Hanover. In 1956 he was recalled to service during the Suez Crisis. During his career in the RAMC, he was awarded the Tullock Memorial Prize for Tropical Medicine and the Ronald Martin gold medal for Military Medicine.
In 1955 Rodney saw the light, or possibly the x-ray, and decided to pursue a career in Diagnostic Radiology. His initial Registrar post at Guy's (1955-58) was followed by a Senior Registrar post at St Georges Hospital, Hyde Park Corner (this building having since become the Lanes Borough Hotel). He then moved to Winchester where he spent the rest of his life.
Rodney's demeanour was that of a conservative or traditionalist, but in fact he was a great innovator and was responsible for bringing up to date Radiology practice to Winchester. Arteriography was followed by obstetric and abdominal ultrasound in 1974. The arrival of ultrasound in Winchester was soon followed by the first report by Rodney in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of British Commonwealth 80 1100 (1973) on foetal meningocoele, observed on the now outdated B ultrasound scanner. The scanning of all pregnancies and the search for such foetal abnormalities using more sophisticated equipment is now mainstream practice.
As Clinical Director, Rodney with his manager's hat on pushed through the acquisition of a CT scanner battling with the bizarre managerial opposition that purchases encountered in those times. However CT was not his thing and Rodney only used the scanner on the machines first ever patient and then never again!
The advent of the Breast Screening Programme in the early 1990's was of great interest to Rodney and natural development from the symptomatic mammography that had gone before. Rodney established a fine service in Winchester and it continues to flourish today.
Rodney was a strong family man and married Anne a radiographer in 1952. They were equally proud of their three children. Their elder daughter Sarah became a Paediatric Nurse and Penelope the younger a Ceramics Conservator. Their son Michael the eldest of the three children is a Consultant Radiologist at King's College Hospital and Director of the Breast Screening Service there.
Rodney was a wise and helpful colleague and friend. In the last year of his life he bore the miseries of prostate cancer and bone metastases with as much fortitude and cheer as it is possible to have under the circumstances.
He leaves a wife, three children, eleven grandchildren and many friends.
Memoir author: Oliver Wethered Michael Michell
