John Crofton
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Sir John Wenman Crofton (27 March 1912 – 3 November 2009) was a pioneer in the treatment of
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
, who also spent the better part of his life raising awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco.


Early life and family

Crofton was born in Dublin, Ireland to a well-off
Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...
family. His father was physician William Mervyn Crofton, who conducted medical research at the Royal University in Dublin, wrote books on
endocrinology Endocrinology (from '' endocrine'' + '' -ology'') is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions known as hormones. It is also concerned with the integration of developmental event ...
and
virology Virology is the Scientific method, scientific study of biological viruses. It is a subfield of microbiology that focuses on their detection, structure, classification and evolution, their methods of infection and exploitation of host (biology), ...
, and had flourishing private medical practices both in Dublin and London. His mother was Mary Josephine Abbott, known as Molly. Crofton was sent to prep school at Baymount, in the suburbs of Dublin away from "
The Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...
", and then in 1925 to
Tonbridge School (God Giveth the Increase) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = , president = , head_label ...
in Kent.


Education

In 1930 Crofton matriculated at
Sidney Sussex College Sidney Sussex College (referred to informally as "Sidney") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1596 under the terms of the will of Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex (1531–1589), wife ...
in the
University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
, eventually earning an MB in 1937 and MD in 1947. During his studies he was a keen rock-climber, making frequent expeditions to the Scottish Highlands, and pioneering a number of climbs, one of which (the Cumming-Crofton route on Mitre Ridge in the Cairngorms) still bears his name. Like most Cambridge medical students, his clinical practice was in London, in his case at
St Thomas's Hospital St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. It is one of the institutions that compose the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foun ...
. During this time his family moved from Dublin to London and he lived with his parents for the first time since the age of nine.


Career

Crofton's first medical posts, in 1937, were casual posts at military hospitals: the
Royal Herbert Hospital Initially the Herbert Hospital, renamed in 1900, the Royal Herbert Hospital was built as a restorative facility for British veterans of the Crimean War, and remained a military hospital until 1977. It was situated in southeast London, on the sout ...
in Woolwich, and the
Queen Alexandra Military Hospital The Queen Alexandra Military Hospital (QAMH) opened in July 1905. It was constructed immediately to the north of the Tate Britain (across a side-street) adjacent to the River Thames on the borders of the neighbourhoods of Millbank and Pimlico, W ...
. In August 1939, while temporarily unemployed, he arranged a climbing trip in the French Alps with friends; they were in Italy when they discovered that war was about to break out, and managed to get back into France the day before the border closed, and from there on crowded trains back to England. He then signed up with 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 a ...
, serving in France, in Egypt with periods in Greece and Eritrea, and from 1942 to 1944 in Malta. He was then granted home leave and took up a posting in Northern Ireland, where he met his future wife,
Eileen Eileen ( or ) is an Irish feminine given name anglicised from Eibhlín and may refer to: People Artists *Eileen Agar (1899–1991), British Surrealist painter and photographer *Eileen Fisher (born 1950), clothing retailer and designer *Eileen ...
, also a qualified doctor. They married in December 1945, just three weeks after he suffered a broken nose in a car crash in Luneburg. Demobilised, he started work at the
Brompton Hospital Royal Brompton Hospital is the largest specialist heart and lung medical centre in the United Kingdom. It is managed by Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. History Consumption in the 19th Century In the 19th century, consumption was a co ...
, organising a controlled trial of the use of
streptomycin Streptomycin is an antibiotic medication used to treat a number of bacterial infections, including tuberculosis, ''Mycobacterium avium'' complex, endocarditis, brucellosis, ''Burkholderia'' infection, plague, tularemia, and rat bite fever. Fo ...
in the treatment of tuberculosis, coordinated by the Medical Research Council: an appointment arranged by Guy Scadding, under whom Crofton had worked in wartime. After a while he was appointed a senior lecturer at the Brompton.


University of Edinburgh

At the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
, Scotland, Crofton was appointed chair of the Respiratory Diseases and Tuberculosis in 1952. In his clinical unit at the City Hospital he introduced and developed what came to be known as the "Edinburgh Method" for tuberculosis treatment. The essence of the method was the use of multiple drugs taken simultaneously to reduce the chance for drug-resistant strains of the tubercle bacilli to develop, this combined with careful monitoring of patients to ensure that they adhered to the prescribed medication regime. His team were able to demonstrate that mortality, and the spread of the disease in the community, could be reduced almost to zero if medication was properly prescribed and properly taken. The incidence of tuberculosis in Edinburgh declined rapidly, and Crofton spent much of the rest of his career travelling around the UK and the wider world attempting to get this message across. Alongside tuberculosis, Crofton's other main work was in preventing tobacco-related medical problems. In this he worked closely with his wife Eileen, who from 1972 headed the
Action on Smoking and Health Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) is the name of a number of autonomous pressure groups (charities) in the anglosphere that seek to publicize the risks associated with tobacco smoking and campaign for greater restrictions on use and on cigar ...
(ASH) organisation in Scotland. From 1963 to 1966 Crofton was dean of medicine at the
University of Edinburgh Medical School The University of Edinburgh Medical School (also known as Edinburgh Medical School) is the medical school of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and the United Kingdom and part of the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine. It was esta ...
. From 1966 to 1969 he worked with Andrew Douglas on their postgraduate textbook, ''Respiratory Diseases''. From 1969 to 1971, the period of student unrest all around the world, he was vice-principal of the university: during this time
Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chance ...
(future prime minister) was elected by the students as
rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
. This had traditionally been a ceremonial post, but Brown decided to exercise his right as rector to chair the University Court. According to Crofton, Brown did the job very efficiently. From 1973 to 1976 Crofton was president of the
Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) is a medical royal college in Scotland. It is one of three organisations that sets the specialty training standards for physicians in the United Kingdom. It was established by Royal charter ...
.


International organizations

Crofton was chair of the
International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease or The Union, is a global scientific organization headquartered in Paris with the stated goals to "improve health for people in low- and middle-income Countries". The Union focuses its w ...
(IUATLD) from 1984 to 1988. He helped write 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 of h ...
's guidelines for the treatment of tuberculosis before his death. In 1998, Crofton was a founding member of a new UK and international tuberculosis charity,
TB Alert TB Alert is a charity working to raise awareness about and support effective treatment of the disease tuberculosis in the UK and internationally. It was registered in 1998 and launched on World Tuberculosis Day in 1999 in response to the resurgence ...
. He served as TB Alert's honorary president from 1999 until his death in 2009. His support for the charity continues through The Sir John Crofton Fund to Fight TB and the Sir John Crofton Prize for TB Nursing.


Recognition

After his 1977 retirement from Edinburgh, Crofton was knighted. Crofton was the 2005 recipient of The Union Medal from the IUATLD. The Crofton Award, named in honour of the physician and his wife, physician Eileen Crofton, is given by the Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland (REHIS) and ASH Scotland, recognising the "contributions young people in Scotland make towards reducing the harm caused by tobacco". ''Saving Lives and Preventing Misery: The memoirs of Sir John Wenman Crofton,'' was published in 2013 by Crofton's daughter and son-in-law.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crofton, John 1912 births 2009 deaths 20th-century Scottish medical doctors Irish military doctors Knights Bachelor Medical doctors from Dublin (city) Presidents of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh Irish pulmonologists Academics of the University of Edinburgh
John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...