Derek Doyle

Biography

Derek Doyle (1931–2022) was a pioneer of modern palliative medicine in the UK. After a decade as a missionary surgeon in South Africa and the Transkei (1957–1966), he returned to Edinburgh and became founding Medical Director of St Columba's Hospice in 1977 — the first hospice in Scotland. He was appointed OBE in 1987 and awarded the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005. He co-founded the European Association for Palliative Care and was Senior Editor of the first three editions of the Oxford Textbook of Palliative Medicine. He was the founding Editor-in-Chief of Palliative Medicine, launched by Edward Arnold in 1987, and served from 1987 to 1992.