| John Berkeley |
 John Berkeley was born, raised and educated in Edinburgh, qualifying in medicine in 1949. After house jobs and a couple of
years in the Air Force (training in Mountain Rescue), John Berkeley joined a general practice in Fort William (1953-66). As
a general practitioner, John Berkeley speaks of his 'utter helplessness' at controlling the symptoms of his dying patients,
and the commonplace fear of morphine overdoses. Between 1966 and 1977 John Berkeley and his wife, also a doctor, spent time
in Bhutan with the Leprosy Mission, and here gained an interest in the planning and administration of health services. Returning
home to Scotland at intervals in this period, John Berkeley gained a Diploma in Social Medicine in 1971, and in 1972 was appointed
Senior Lecturer in General Practice at Aberdeen University. By the time the Berkeleys returned home for good, in 1977, John
Berkeley had become a consultant in community medicine and, as such, was involved in discussions about the use of GPs at the
newly opened Roxburghe House, a hospice unit attached to Tor Na Dee Hospital, Aberdeen. This managerial involvement developed
into a clinical role as John Berkeley became Medical Director at Roxburghe House (1981-92), combining the position with his
consultantship in community medicine and public health. The interview discusses the development of this NHS unit, nursing
and medical staffing, education at the medical school, staff support, depression in the terminally ill, and his research into
Quality of Life. John Berkeley has carried out several 'needs assessments' in palliative care in Scotland and been involved
in the Scottish Partnership Agency as Vice-Chairman (1991-93), and also discusses the beginnings of palliative care in Pakistan,
Oman and Yemen.
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| Interview conducted by David Clark, 18 June 1997 |
| Interview Duration: 2 hours, 45 minutes |
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