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Obituary: Dr Chris Jowett 19 August 1952 – 27 May 2017

Last month we lost Dr Chris Jowett, the treasurer of our board, former vice-chair of Hillingdon LMC and a prolific advocate for London general practice for over three decades. This obituary is written by Dr Tony Grewal, who was a partner in practice with Chris from 1987-2010 and preceded him as vice-chair of Hillingdon LMC.

Chris was born in Hull (and remained proud of his Yorkshire roots) but moved with his family to Bedford when he was four. He qualified from Barts, completed his house jobs and began his GP training on the Windsor VTS scheme.  During this time, he made many friends, two of whom later joined him in his practice.  He also met and later married Astrid, with whom he had three sons.

He joined a practice in West Drayton in 1982.  At that time, the premises were poor and the ancillary staff minimal.  When he retired from the practice as managing partner some 30 years later, the premises were spacious and fit for purpose, there was a full complement of ancillary and nursing staff, and the practice was properly managed.  The practice had a high reputation among patients and colleagues in Hillingdon, largely due to his leadership.

As a GP, he was kind, clinically excellent, a valued and valuable colleague and adored by his patients.  As managing partner, he was considerate and popular, but could take difficult decisions when necessary.

He was extensively involved in the wider health economy in Hillingdon, as an LMC member and later as vice chair. He was involved in many aspects of management and service delivery, including becoming PEC chair and cancer lead.  He became a member and treasurer of the Board of Londonwide LMCs until his death, where his invaluable contributions included making the presentation of the accounts to the AGM positively entertaining.

In addition, he was a skilled musician, a good artist, an enthusiastic cook and lover of wine. All who knew him, whether professionally or socially (or both), held him in the highest regard for his ability, kindness, capacity for hard work, honesty, courage and great sense of humour.

Last updated : 15 Jun 2017

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