James Donald Robertson

 James was a house physician and surgeon at Edinburgh’s Royal Hospital for Sick Children before serving in World War II as a specialist anaesthetist.

 Following the end of the war, he held a number of post at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, before obtaining an MRC research fellowship to work at the University of Edinburgh. He became director of the department of physiology in 1960, was awarded a personal chair in 1968, and retired in 1982.

James was in many ways a trailblazer. His pioneering of intensive care led to the establishment of Ward 19 which was the first iteration of a dedicated intensive therapy unit (ITU). He was also extremely committed to postgraduate education and had close collaborations with many academic centres in Europe and was a regular examiner in developing countries. 

Possibly his greatest contribution was to education and training. James set up in-service courses and arranged for registrar posts in Edinburgh to be included in a rotation of three-month blocks to ensure comprehensive exposure to all sub-specialty practice. The first-time pass rates of Edinburgh trainees proved the worth of these measures, and he spread the word in lecture tours to many parts of the world.

In recognition of James’ contributions to education and training, in 1989 the Edinburgh and East of Scotland Society established an annual lecture in his memory which is still ongoing today.