Francis Irvine Caird 1928 – 2011
Francis Caird was a key figure in establishing the academic basis for the specialty of geriatric medicine in the middle and late 20th century. He was a genuine polymath with a formidable intellect. He came from a distinguished medical family; his father was a general practitioner and his grandfather Professor of Surgery in Edinburgh.
After completing a BA in Animal Physiology from NewCollege in Oxford in 1950, he became a clinical scholar at Oxford Radcliffe Infirmary and graduated (MB,BCh) in 1953, following which he did his National Service as a Clinical Officer in Medicine. He developed an interest in diseases of older age at an early stage in his career and was awarded a DM by the University of Oxford in 1960 for his research on the diagnosis and progression of cardiac valvular disease in older people. At that time academic geriatric medicine was an unfashionable specialty and there were a very few posts in the UK. To progress his career, Francis came to Glasgow in 1967 as Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant Geriatrician based at StobhillHospital in the north of the city. Here he worked under the very first Professor of Geriatric Medicine, Professor Sir Ferguson Anderson, who soon recognised the intellectual prowess of his protégé. Francis was appointed as Reader in 1975 and subsequently, succeeded his mentor in 1979. He moved from Stobhill to the Southern General Hospital where he aligned the department closely with the regional neurology and neurosurgical services. He provided a clinical service for neurological disorders in older age at a time when access to specialist care was difficult for older people. Through his efforts elderly patients were able to gain the benefits from new techniques of brain imaging, including computed tomography, opening up a new world of opportunities for treatment. He was a strong advocate for equity of access of older people to neurological investigation and treatment. This service was greatly welcomed by geriatrician colleagues throughout west and central Scotland; they could rely on Francis to provide an expert opinion on their difficult and complex patients. Many clinicians training in geriatric medicine in the west of Scotland were fortunate to spend time with him in ward 67 at the Southern General. Much was learned from watching Francis in action on the ward rounds or at the clinic. His ability to recognise complex patterns of disease and reach specific and accurate diagnoses was legendary.
Throughout his professional life and until his retirement in 1994 he sustained a high level of academic productivity. He published almost 200 peer-reviewed papers on a huge variety of subjects including the epidemiology of disability, Parkinson’s disease and the diagnosis of neurological disorders in older age; he also wrote numerous book chapters and edited authoritative geriatric medical texts, including substantial contributions to an influential series on ‘Advanced Geriatric Medicine’. He took great pleasure in involving junior doctors in his unit in this activity, and always ensured they got full recognition (as co-authors) from this work. He was also a strong supporter of the professions allied to medicine (particularly speech and language therapy) and their role in rehabilitation, and published extensively on this subject. His written output was always clear and easy to understand, even when exploring or explaining difficult concepts. His publications were widely read by clinicians across the world and made a genuine impact on the development of the specialty of Geriatric Medicine internationally. His contributions were recognised formally by the award of Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists in 1992 and the British Geriatrics Society’s President’s medal in 1993.
Francis Irvine Caird, died on 26th June 2011, aged 82.
written by David J Stott, Brian O Williams, Paul V Knight