Remembering Ipswich Hospital physician Dr John Day

Whether he was caring for patients in Ipswich or helping to set up a medical school in Africa, Dr Day was a consummate professional, whose kind, charming manner never failed to put patients at ease.

John was born in Cambridge on November 30, 1939, the younger of two boys.

They saw little of their father, a surgeon serving throughout WWII but John’s perception of his father’s wartime service influenced his choice of medicine as a career.

Overseas postings for his parents after the war meant boarding school from an early age, with school holiday visits to Germany, Nigeria and Egypt. 

John studied medicine at Guy’s Hospital in London, graduating in 1963.

“Medicine was John’s life,” said Anne, his wife since 1962. “There was no element of it that he was not enthused about.

“He enjoyed the challenge of making diagnoses. He loved teaching his junior staff, he loved seeing his registrars going on to become consultants – and he loved his patients.”

Dr John Day was devoted to his patients, and was determined to revolutionise the way diabetes was managed. (Image: Anne Day)

The young couple relocated to Surrey for a year, where John completed his pre-registration year, after which it was recommended that he apply for a job at Ipswich Hospital, where he worked for three years learning alongside the brilliant consultant physician, Dr John Paulley.

In 1967, John joined a research unit at King’s College Hospital and five years later was appointed as consultant physician at the Ipswich Hospital. 

Having already been awarded a travelling scholarship to America, John, Anne and their three children - eight year old Michael, six year old Caroline and Peter, just eight months - decamped to Boston. 

This was an exciting period for John working on various projects with Harvard colleagues, and for the whole family taking off every summer weekend with a tent to explore as much of the country as possible.

In 1974, the family settled back in Ipswich, John resuming his role as a general physician at Ipswich Hospital, specialising in diabetes.  

He was determined to revolutionise the way diabetes was managed and under his leadership, funding was found to build the Ipswich Diabetes Centre in 1985 - the first of its kind in the UK.

This brought all the elements of diabetes care under one roof, ensuring not just efficiency but a far more pleasant experience for patients.

Many of John’s patients were under his care for decades, and appreciated his calm, reassuring manner. Often, John cared for different generations of the same family.

“You would have parents bringing their children in and saying, ‘Dr Day looked after me, and now he’s going to look after you,’” said Anne. “He really loved that side of medicine.”

An inscription outside the Ipswich Diabetes Centre, which acknowledges Dr Day's contribution. (Image: Anne Day) Many of John’s patients were under his care for decades, and appreciated his calm, reassuring manner. (Image: Anne Day)

John retired from active patient care in 2002, and was already involved in a project proposed by a South African colleague to a set up a new medical school in Mozambique, a country that had only one medical school and very few doctors. 

A charity was set up, the Ipswich-Beira Health Initiative. This was a collaboration between Ipswich Hospital and the Catholic University of Mozambique, and John would visit the country 24 times in the next 10 years, helping to write the new curriculum and setting up a clinic within the medical school where students could learn basic skills.

Many of John’s former colleagues gave their time to go to Beira to teach in the Medical School, and money was raised to improve the appalling conditions in the local hospital.

John retired a second time in 2009, finally allowing himself to devote time to his other interests.

He played golf – and the ukulele, joining a group called Strum East, with whom he regularly played.

As well as being a brilliant doctor, Dr Day was devoted husband, father and grandfather. (Image: Anne Day)

He and Anne were also delighted to become grandparents, and John enjoyed spending time with his two young granddaughters.

A season ticket holder at Ipswich Town for more than 45 years, John was in the stands cheering earlier this year when the Blues made it to the Premier League.

John was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2016. Having lived with the disease for eight years, he died earlier this month.

Dr John Day MD FRCP BSc (Hons) died on August 14, aged 84.