Dr. Mark Swerdlow

FFARCS The Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) is the professional body responsible for the specialty of anaesthesia throughout the United Kingdom. It sets standards in anaesthesia, critical care, pain management, and for the training of anaesth ...

, DA (1918–2003) was a British consultant

anaesthetist Anesthesiology, anaesthesiology, or anaesthesia is the medical specialty concerned with the total perioperative care of patients before, during and after surgery. It encompasses anesthesia, intensive care medicine, critical emergency medici ...

, said to have "created the speciality of pain medicine in Great Britain". Swerdlow trained at the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The university owns and operates majo ...

, and afterwards served in the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps ...

. He developed his interest in

pain management Pain management is an aspect of medicine and health care involving relief of pain (pain relief, analgesia, pain control) in various dimensions, from acute and simple to chronic and challenging. Most physicians and other health professionals p ...

while working as a consultant anaesthetist at

Salford Royal Hospital Salford Royal Hospital (formerly known as Hope Hospital) is a large university teaching hospital in Pendleton, Salford, England operated by Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust. It is one of the top-performing hospitals in the United King ...

from 1951 to 1980. He set up the North West Regional Pain Relief Centre, one of the UK's first, in 1959. In 1971 he was elected chair of the Intractable Pain Society of Great Britain (later the

Pain Society Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, ...

), which he had founded in 1967. He was subsequently made an honorary member. After formally retiring, he worked as an advisor to the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level o ...

on the WHO analgesic ladder. He died on 26 February 2003. A collection of material relating to him is held by the

University of Manchester Special Collections A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ro ...

References

External links

* 1918 births 2003 deaths British anaesthetists Alumni of the University of Manchester Royal Army Medical Corps officers {{UK-med-bio-stub