Dr Derek Hubert Patrick Cope

Personal Details

Dr Derek Hubert Patrick Cope MRCS LRCP MB BS FFARCS DA

01/06/2022 to 16/06/2015

Place of birth: Epsom, Surrey, England

Nationality: British

CRN: 497507

Education and qualifications

General education	Epsom College, where he was successfully nominated for the Freer Lucas entrance scholarship to the Middlesex Hospital, London. Middlesex Hospital Medical School.
Primary medical qualification(s)	MRCS Eng., LRCP Lond., 1945 MB BS, University of London, 1945
Initial Fellowship and type	FFARCS by Election
Year of Fellowship	1953
Other qualification(s)	DA (RCP&S), 1950

Professional life and career

Postgraduate career

After qualifying Cope was a junior medical officer at Selly Oak Hospital, Birmingham. From September 1945 to April 1948 he served as a Captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps. In May 1948 he was appointed as a junior anaesthetist at the Middlesex Hospital, proceeding to registrar by the end of 1949, and senior registrar in 1951. By 1954 he was appointed part-time Consultant Anaesthetist to the thoracic unit at Grove Park Hospital, a position he held for about six years. Soon after he was appointed Consultant Anaesthetist at the Middlesex Hospital, in which post he remained until his retirement in 1983. Additionally he became in 1960 honorary anaesthetist to the Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth, a hospice in London.

Professional interests and activities

Cope was a member of the British Medical Association, the Royal Society of Medicine, and the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain & Ireland. He became Adviser in Anaesthetic Procedures at King Edward VII Hospital Offices. Most of his clinical time was spent in general and dental surgery as well as maternity. He published several papers, notably on treatment of cerebral hypoxia and on the use of labetalol in anaesthesia. Also he was the author of two chapters in “Emergency Anaesthesia” 1965. In retirement he continued to anaesthetise for dental practices in Marylebone, London.  

Other biographical information

In his obituary, Derek Cope is described as “one of life’s gentlemen”. He married Constance Radford in 1945. The couple devoted much time to activities of St Marylebone Parish Church. Many of their holidays were spent at Ireton Wood, Derbyshire. Derek died at the age of 93, survived by nephews and a niece.

Author and sources

Author:

Dr Alistair McKenzie

Sources and comments:

[1] Cope AP. Obituary Derek Hubert Patrick Cope (with photograph). BMJ 2015; 351: h5840. [2] Medical Registers and Directories. [3] ancestry.co.uk