Obituary

With sadness on the passing of Louis Gifford a patient centred practitioner

Louis Gifford started work as a newly qualied physiotherapist at
St Stephens Hospital London(later tobecomethe Chelsea andWest-
minster Hospital) in the early nineteen eighties. He had an early in-
terest in musculo-skeletal problems, which took himto Australia for
the Graduate Diploma in Advanced Manipulative Therapy, taught by
Geoff Maitland, Patricia Trott and Mary Magarey. Following this,
Louis spent some time working in Geoff Maitlands practice.
Louis search for the most effective management with each pa-
tient, whilst being sensitive to their beliefs and expectations led
him to publish a landmark paper in Physiotherapy (Gifford, 1998)
which provided a framework (The Mature Organism Model) for
the integration of neurobiology into physiotherapy. In the late
1980s Louis worked with David Bulter to help rene the testing
and integration of neurodynamics into manual therapy (Butler and
Gifford, 1989; Gifford, 1998). Louis taught many manual therapy
courses in the area of neurodynamics around the UK and in Europe
and continued this work with his editorship of the Topical Issues in
Pain series on chronic pain management. Louis promoted a more
science based modern biopsychosocial model of Physiotherapy
practice which has resulted in a cultural change in the profession.
Louis Physiotherapy journey has paved the way for his and
others research, clinical practice and teaching and most of all the
development of patient centred practice. During the whole of his
career Louis has inspired physiotherapists around the world and
made a highly signicantly contribution to clinical practice.
Clair Hebron, MACP Chair
School of Health Sciences, University of Brighton, 49 Darley Road,
Eastbourne, United Kingdom
As Chair of the MACP I had the privilege of presenting Louis with
his Fellowship in Liverpool in 2011. Louis had always been a phys-
ios physio, and whenever I had met him previously, he had always
clearly had the patient at the heart of everything he did. In Liver-
pool I was struck by his humility, his humour and his clear love
and lust for life. Whilst clearly unwell, his spirit and passion clearly
shone through, and reminded me of the rst time I met him.
This was back in the early 90s when I was a junior physio
attending my rst national conference. I met Louis in the lift late
one night and, as bet the man, he invited me to join him and col-
leagues for a beer or two. There I was sitting and supping and putt-
ing the world of physio to right with a superstar of the profession;
only he wasnt, and clearly didnt see himself in that way. He was a
man with ideas, passion and an intensely curious mind, but open
and generous in his consideration of other points of view. It left
an impression on me that night-here was a pioneer of patient cen-
tred care, and a man with real integrity and inuence, but no ego.
I had the pleasure of attending a fewcourses of Louis and never
saw him change. He was the same when accepting his Fellowship.
His initial reaction when I rst called him to let him know was bli-
mey-you sure youve got the right bloke? We had. His acceptance
speech was littered with fond memories, good humour and the
same clear passion for his career and his patients, and the same
desire to make a difference. It was a very humbling moment for
me to read his citation, and a real honour to present him with his
Fellowship on behalf of the MACP.
Physiotherapy, healthcare and patients have lost a true pioneer
and passionate advocate, but his legacy will continue to inspire
others. The tributes paid by so many reect the high esteem in
which he was held, and the impact he has had on our profession.
Chris Mercer, Consultant Physiotherapist
*
Western Sussex Hospitals Trust, Physiotherapy, Lyndhurst Road,
Worthing, West Sussex BN11 2DH, United Kingdom
*
Tel.: 44 07808739478.
E-mail address: christopher.mercer@wsht.nhs.uk.
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