Dr Stephanie Saville
15/05/1927 to 30/06/2018
Place of birth: Dublin, Eire
Nationality: Irish
CRN: 516682
Married surname: Atterton (1965-1983)
Education and qualifications
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General education |
Hillcourt School, County Dublin (head prefect); Medical School, Trinity College, Dublin |
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Primary medical qualification(s) |
MBBChBAO, Dublin, 1949 |
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Initial Fellowship and type |
FFARCS by Examination |
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Year of Fellowship |
1954 |
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Other qualification(s) |
DA(RCP&S), 1953 |
Professional life and career
Postgraduate career
Her early anaesthetic training was at Bristol Royal Infirmary, Albany Hospital & Medical College, New York and, as a registrar, at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London. She was then senior registrar at Westminster & Kingston Hospitals before becoming consultant to the Chelsea Hospitals Group in 1960 (her main focus being St Stephen’s Hospital), a post she held until retirement in 1987.
Professional interests and activities
Induced hypotension was an early interest and, as a consultant she did much to improve the services of her hospital. In 1960 there were only two operating theatres and one ventilator; when she retired in 1987 it had four well equipped theatres, a large recovery area and an adjacent ICU . She also introduced epidural analgesia in labour at an early time and started a pain clinic. Beyond anaesthesia she organised a communal meeting area where the hospital’s consultants could discuss important matters. She was a great supporter of, and mentor to, trainees and an important role model when there were few females in senior posts in British hospitals.
Other biographical information
Like her parents she was a committed Unitarian, devoting herself to its Kensington Church from 1954 onwards. She married an architect, Thomas Atterton, but they eventually divorced and there were no children. In retirement she enjoyed her cottage in Wepham (near Arundel) where she demonstrated her skill as a gardener by winning prizes, and entertained her friends with great generosity.
Author and Sources
Author: Prof Barbara Wright, life-long friend who provided the photograph.
Sources and any other comments: Obituaries in BMJ (3rd August, 2018), The Guardian (13th July, 2018) and The Irish Times (16th July, 2018) | Medical Directory