Rodney Spencer Ledward (January 1938 – 25 October 2000) was an English

obstetrician Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...

and

gynaecologist Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, which focuses on pre ...

. He was accused of injuring women under his care, which he denied. In 1998 he was struck off the medical register after being found guilty by the

General Medical Council The General Medical Council (GMC) is a public body that maintains the official register of physician, medical practitioners within the United Kingdom. Its chief responsibility is to "protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the pu ...

for serious professional misconduct relating to 13 botched operations at William Harvey Hospital in Ashford and the private St Saviour's Hospital in Hythe between 1989 and 1996. R.S. Ledward died in 2000 from pancreatic cancer.

Early life and career

Rodney Spencer Ledward was born in Stone, Staffordshire. He first trained as a pharmaceutical chemist at the University of Manchester. Later he became a surgeon who specialized in obstetrics and gynecology. He became an acclaimed senior NHS consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at the

William Harvey Hospital The William Harvey Hospital is a hospital in Willesborough, Ashford, Kent, England. It is one of the three main hospitals in the East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust area and is named after William Harvey (1578–1657), the Fol ...

in Ashford, Kent in 1980, and practiced at multiple private hospitals in the South East of England. In 1983 he married the Hon. Lady Jane Annabelle Howard, the daughter of the 12th

Earl of Carlisle Earl of Carlisle is a title that has been created three times in the Peerage of England. History The first creation came in 1322, when Andrew Harclay, 1st Baron Harclay, was made Earl of Carlisle. He had already been summoned to Parliamen ...

. They had one child together. R.S. Ledward BSc (Manchester), MR Pharm. Soc., MB, ChB (L'pool), DA, DM (N'ham), LRCP, MRCS, MRSH, FRCS, FRCOG, DHMSA studied medicine at

University of Liverpool The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro ...

and obtained a doctorate from the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...

. In addition to his clinical career he was also academically active. He served as a visiting faculty member at

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

and was appointed as an honorary senior

teaching fellow A teaching fellow (sometimes referred to as a TF) is an individual at a higher education institution, including universities, whose work involves teaching and potentially pedagogic research. The work done by teaching fellows can vary significantl ...

at the

Royal London Hospital The Royal London Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is part of Barts Health NHS Trust. It provides district general hospital services for the City of London and Tower Hamlets and sp ...

Medical College which later became integrated in the

Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, commonly known as Barts or BL, is a medical school, medical and dental school in London, England. The school is part of Queen Mary University of London, a constituent college of the federal ...

. He published articles and textbooks especially around pharmacotherapy in obstetrics. He was involved in the training of medical students, house officers and registrars in the UK and also served as supervisor in the training of Belgian (

Ghent University Ghent University (, abbreviated as UGent) is a Public university, public research university located in Ghent, in the East Flanders province of Belgium. Located in Flanders, Ghent University is the second largest Belgian university, consisting o ...

) medical students rotating at the William Harvey Hospital. After being struck off the medical register, the pharmaceutical society also struck him off as a pharmacist. He then retreated to his stud farm in Cork, Ireland.

References

External links

* https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/jun/09/sarahboseley * https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1998/dec/10/mr-rodney-ledward * * http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/782601.stm * https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/doctor-heal-thyself-1176139.html * https://www.independent.co.uk/news/surgeon-once-did-seven-hysterectomies-in-four-hours-1185389.html * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ledward, Rodney English gynaecologists 1938 births 2000 deaths 20th-century English medical doctors Alumni of the University of Nottingham Medical doctors struck off by the General Medical Council Medical malpractice People from Stone, Staffordshire