Bernard Francisco Ribeiro, Baron Ribeiro, (born 20 January 1944) is a British surgeon who served as

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the

Royal College of Surgeons of England The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) is an independent professional body and registered charity that promotes and advances standards of surgery, surgical care for patients, and regulates surgery and dentistry in England and Wa ...

from 2005 to 2008. He was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

in 2010 and sat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

on the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

benches until his retirement in 2023.Emma Palmer
"Pioneering surgeon is given seat in Lords"
Basildon News, ''Brentford Weekly News'', 23 November 2010.

Biography

Born in 1944 in

Achimota Achimota ( ), is a town in the Accra Metropolitan District, a district of the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Achimota means "speak no name" in the Ga language. In pre-colonial Ghana, its forbidden forest was a "silent" refuge for runaway slaves ...

in the Gold Coast (now

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

), Bernard Ribeiro was educated at

Dean Close School Dean Close School is a co-educational private boarding and day school (for pupils aged 3–18) in the public school tradition, located in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The school opened in 1886 and is divided into pre-prep, prepa ...

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

, Gloucestershire, and at

Middlesex Hospital Middlesex Hospital was a teaching hospital located in the Fitzrovia area of London, England. First opened as the Middlesex Infirmary in 1745 on Windmill Street, it was moved in 1757 to Mortimer Street where it remained until it was finally clos ...

Medical School. Ribeiro qualified as a

doctor Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

at Middlesex Medical School in 1967 and then specialised in surgery, five years later being awarded

Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an intercollegiate basis by the four Royal Colleges of Surgeons (the Roya ...

(FRCS). From 1979 until his retirement in April 2008, he was consultant general surgeon at Basildon Hospital with a special interest in

urology Urology (from Ancient Greek, Greek wikt:οὖρον, οὖρον ''ouron'' "urine" and ''wiktionary:-logia, -logia'' "study of"), also known as genitourinary surgery, is the branch of medicine that focuses on surgical and medical diseases of t ...

and

colorectal surgery Colorectal surgery is a field in medicine dealing with disorders of the rectum, anus, and colon. The field is also known as proctology, but this term is now used infrequently within medicine and is most often employed to identify practices rela ...

, pioneering the use of invasive

keyhole surgery Laparoscopy () is an operation performed in the abdomen or pelvis using small incisions (usually 0.5–1.5 cm) with the aid of a camera. The laparoscope aids diagnosis or therapeutic interventions with a few small cuts in the abdomen.Medli ...

, and helping to establish the Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust's advanced laparoscopic unit. He was elected to the Council of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1998. In 2008, he was awarded the Honorary degree of Doctor of Science by

Anglia Ruskin University Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) is a public research university in the region of East Anglia, United Kingdom. Its origins date back to the Cambridge School of Art (CSA), founded by William John Beamont, a Fellow of Trinity College at the Unive ...

. Also in 2008 he received an Honorary Fellowship from the

American College of Surgeons The American College of Surgeons (ACS) is a professional medical association for surgeons and surgical team members, founded in 1913. It claims more than 90,000 members in 144 countries. History The ACS was founded in 1913 as an outgrowth of ...

. In the

2004 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2004 were appointments by some of the Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrations ...

, he was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) for services to medicine, and was appointed

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

in the

2009 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2009 were announced on 31 December 2008 in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Barbados, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Christopher and Nevis,Saint Christopher. t ...

. He was created a

on 20 December 2010, as Baron Ribeiro, of

in the

Republic of Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

and of Ovington in the County of

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

. In 2012, Lord Ribeiro was confirmed as Chair of the

Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their o ...

's Independent Reconfiguration Panel, advising the

Secretary of State for Health The secretary of state for health and social care, also referred to as the health secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department of Health and Social Care. The in ...

on changes to local health services in England. He serves as

Master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

of the

Worshipful Company of Barbers The Worshipful Company of Barbers is one of the livery companies of the City of London, and ranks 17th in precedence. The Fellowship of Surgeons merged with the Barbers' Company in 1540, forming the Company of Barbers and Surgeons, but after t ...

for 2013–14. He is President of the Council of

. Lord Ribeiro is an active

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

and currently serves the

United Grand Lodge of England The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) is the governing Masonic lodge for the majority of freemasons in England, Wales, and the Commonwealth of Nations. Claiming descent from the Masonic Grand Lodge formed 24 June 1717 at the Goose & Gridiron ...

as the Right Worshipful Senior Grand Warden.https://issuu.com/freemasonrytoday/docs/myb_2019 He was previously the Senior Grand Deacon in 2005, and Junior Grand Warden in 2018. In November 2020, he was appointed to the board of the

Equality and Human Rights Commission The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is a non-departmental public body in Great Britain, established by the Equality Act 2006 with effect from 1 October 2007. The Commission has responsibility for the promotion and enforcement of e ...

, and was appointed Chancellor of

on 1 January 2021.

Family

Ribeiro's immediate family is made up of his wife, Elisabeth, and four children, Joanna Charlotte, Tessa Elisabeth, Nicola Helen, and Richard Francisco Ribeiro.

Medical work

In 2014, there was an Assisted Dying Bill that was proposed by Lord Falconer. This bill aimed to make it legal for doctors to provide patients medication that would end their life if they chose. Ribeiro was not in favour of this bill, believing that it would complicate patient-doctor relationships. In 2007, Ribeiro responded to two of his colleagues Maynard and Ayalew, detailing how establishments such as Royal College of Surgeons of England are working to implement patient-reported outcome measures for elective surgical procedures. Ribeiro believed that the entire National Health Service and its patients would benefit. This implementation would also lead to higher levels of training and teaching standards. Ribeiro began his career at Basildon Hospital, where he was appointed in 1979. In addition to his development of many surgery techniques, such as minimally invasive surgery, he was also instrumental in bringing the construction of the Essex Cardiothoracic Centre to the Basildon Hospital. The Essex Cardiothoracic Centre at Basildon Hospital routinely sees 300,000 outpatients in addition to seeing 103,000 accident and emergency patients.

Awards and honours

Ribeiro was awarded the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1972. He was then awarded the role of Consultant General Surgeon in 1979 at Basildon Hospital. From 1999 until 2000, he was President of the Association of Surgeons across Great Britain as well as Ireland. From 2005 to 2008, Ribeiro was President of the Royal College of Surgeons. He received the CBE award in 2004, for making outstanding contributions towards medicine. In 2012, Ribeiro was appointed Chairman of the Independent Recognition Panel, whose responsibility was to advise the Secretary of State for Health. Ribeiro was also added as a member of the European Union's Home Affairs Sub-Committee in the House of Lords. He was also tasked as a committee member for the Select Committee on the Long-Term Sustainability of the NHS and Adult Social Care. Ribeiro is best known for his development and execution of keyhole surgery. It was this achievement that helped Ribeiro become acknowledged and inducted into the House of Lords. He also holds honorary degrees from multiple universities—including the

University of Bath The University of Bath is a public research university in Bath, England. Bath received its royal charter in 1966 as Bath University of Technology, along with a number of other institutions following the Robbins Report. Like the University ...

and

—as well as an honorary fellowship with the

References

External links

"Mr Bernard Ribeiro’s GDDA Inaugural Speech"
Ghana Doctors and Dentists Association-UK, 9 September 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ribeiro, Bernard 1944 births English surgeons Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Conservative Party (UK) life peers Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of England Alumni of the UCL Medical School Living people Knights Bachelor Place of birth missing (living people) People from the City of Winchester Ghanaian emigrants to England Black British politicians People educated at Dean Close School Black British health professionals Ghanaian surgeons Life peers created by Elizabeth II Peers retired under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014