Iona Heath

English medical doctor and writer

Iona Caroline Heath CBE FRCGP is an English medical doctor and writer who was president of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) from 2009 to 2012. She worked as an inner-city general practitioner in Kentish Town in London from 1975 until 2010.

Dr Iona Heath

## Career

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Heath graduated from Cambridge University in 1974.[1] The following year she began work as a general practitioner in the Caversham Group Practice, covering the inner-city area of Kentish Town in North-West London, caring for a mostly disadvantaged and hugely ethnically diverse population. She retired from clinical practice in 2010.[2][3]

She was a nationally elected member of the Council of the UK Royal College of General Practitioners from 1989 to 2010 and chaired the College's Committee on Medical Ethics from 1998 to 2004 and the International Committee from 2006 to 2009.[4] She was elected President of the College for a three-year term from 2009 to 2012.[5] From 1993 to 2001, she was an editorial adviser for the British Medical Journal and chaired the journal's Ethics Committee from 2004 to 2009. She was an elected member of the world executive of the World Organization of Family Doctors from 2007 to 2012.[6] She was a member of the UK Human Genetics Commission from 2004 to 2007.

She was a Member of the Royal Commission on Long Term Care for the Elderly 1997–1999.[7]

She gave the Harveian Oration for the UK Royal College of Physicians in 2011.[8]

She wrote a regular Op Ed column for the British Medical Journal for eight years and has contributed essays to many other medical journals across the world. She has been particularly interested to explore the nature of general practice, the importance of medical generalism, issues of justice and liberty in relation to health care, the corrosive influence of the medical industrial complex and the commercialisation of medicine, and the challenges posed by disease-mongering, the care of the dying, and violence within families.

## Honours

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She was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2000 New Year Honours for services to the Care of Elderly People,[9]

## Publications

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* John Berger - Ways of Learning, Oxford University Press, 2024 ISBN 978-0-19-286423-9
* Matters of Life and Death: Key Writings, Routledge, 2007 ISBN 978-1846190964
* The mystery of general practice, Nuffield Trust, 1995 ISBN 0900574933

## References

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1. ^ Heath, Iona. "The Mystery of General Practice" (PDF). The Nuffield Trust. Retrieved 13 July 2016.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
2. ^ Philip, Keir (15 June 2011). "Seeing people in their own clothes". Careers. BMJ. 342: d3338. doi:10.1136/sbmj.d3338. S2CID 79540236.
3. ^ Heath, Iona (4 February 2014). "Iona Heath: Not keen on posh boys". BMJ. 348: g1286. doi:10.1136/bmj.g1286. PMID 24495956. S2CID 36477279.
4. ^ Ferriman, Annabel (31 January 2004). "BMJ ethics committee elects new chairperson". BMJ. 328 (7434): 246. doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7434.246-b. PMC 1143789.
5. ^ Iacobucci, Gareth (2 June 2009). "Veteran GP campaigner wins RCGP presidency battle". Pulse. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
6. ^ "Featured Doctor.HEATH, Dr Iona: WONCA Executive member 2007-2013 (UK)". World Organization of Family Doctors. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
7. ^ "Royal Commission into long-term care announced". Local Government Chronicle. 5 December 1997. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
8. ^ Park, Sophie; Berlin, Anita (2012). "'Divided we fail': understanding inter-relations and the role of the generalist". British Journal of General Practice. 62 (604): 596–598\. doi:10.3399/bjgp12X658377. PMC 3481504.596-598&rft.date=2012&rft_id=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3481504#id-name=PMC&rft_id=info:doi/10.3399/bjgp12X658377&rft.aulast=Park&rft.aufirst=Sophie&rft.au=Berlin,+Anita&rft_id=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3481504&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Iona+Heath" class="Z3988">
9. ^ "DBE, KBE, CBE civil". BBC News. 31 December 1999.

## External link

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* portrait at artuk.org

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