A memorial service will be held on Tuesday 5 April 2022 at 6pm at the Royal Society of Medicine to honour and remember Sir Paul Cosford’s work in public health and communicable diseases. Sir Paul, former Emeritus Medical Director at Public Health England, passed away on 5 April 2021.
Sir Paul was born in Gloucestershire in 1963. He gained admission to study medicine at St Mary's Hospital Medical School in London in 1981. He began his career in public health in the early 1990s, later becoming Director of Public Health in the Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland Area Health Authority.
From 2006 to 2010, he was one of the nine new Regional Directors for Public Health, covering the East of England. He was acting Chief Executive of the Health Protection Agency, then joined Public Health England in October 2012 where he was the Medical Director and Director for Health Protection from 2013 until 2019.
In 2017, Sir Paul was diagnosed with lung cancer, despite being physically fit and a non-smoker. He had previously cycled from London to Berlin, Paris to Brest and back, and from John O'Groats to Lands End. His illness forced him to stand down from his role at Public Health England. He went on to write a paper for the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine about lung cancer in non-smokers, and the stigma attached to it. He also had an article published in the BMJ, calling for policies on assisted dying to be reviewed.
On the day, we will be joined by Dame Jenny Harries and The Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, as well as Sir Paul's wife, Professor Gill Leng.
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Royal Society of Medicine, 1 Wimpole St, Marylebone, London, W1G 0AE, United Kingdom
Disclaimer: All views expressed in this event are of the speakers themselves and not of the RSM nor the speaker's organisations.
Registration for this event will close on 4 April 2022 at 6:00pm. Late registrations will not be accepted.
