Peter Banks, a British Columbia internist who served as president of both the CMA and British Medical Association in 1973/74, died in Victoria Dec. 4, 2002. He had been receiving dialysis for several years.
Banks, 80, was president of the BC Medical Association when medicare was being introduced across the country in the mid-1960s. “Peter was a major part of organized medicine out here for years,” recalls Dr. John O'Brien-Bell, a family physician from Surrey, BC, who served as CMA president in 1988/89. “He was certainly instrumental in discussions with Premier W.A.C. Bennett over the introduction of medicare in BC.”
O'Brien-Bell said Banks' interests extended far beyond medicine to the arts and literature, and to his service on the board of the private Shawnigan Lake School.
Even though Banks participated in the introduction of medicare, he said Canada would be committing a great error if “it allowed physicians to be conscripted into the machinery of the state.” As he assumed the CMA/BMA presidency, he added: “Doctors must continue to work primarily for their patients and not for the various levels of government, because the interests of government and those of our patients are not always the same. … [We must remain] separate from those that govern us.”
Banks, who received his initial medical training at St. Bart's in London, became the only internist practising solely as a consultant when he moved to Victoria in 1955. In 1996 he was awarded the Order of British Columbia, and 2 years later he received the CMA's Medal of Service for “exceptional service to the medical profession and the people of Canada.”
He is survived by his wife, Ann, and 3 children.
Clark, Gordon A., London, Ont.; University of Western Ontario, 1943; FRCS(Ed.), FRFPS(Glas.); RCAMC, WW II; former consulting surgeon, Victoria Hospital Corporation. Died Nov. 10, 2002, aged 85; survived by his wife, Joan, and 3 children.
Clogg, Donald K., Calgary; McGill University, 1949; pediatrics; FRCPC; former director, medical emergency services, Montreal Children's Hospital and Emergency Department, Alberta Children's Hospital; associate professor, McGill University; emeritus professor, University of Calgary. Died Nov. 11, 2002, aged 78.
Coop, Charles W., Nanaimo, BC; University of Toronto, 1950; nuclear medicine; ABRad, FRCPC; former director, radiology and nuclear medicine, St. Thomas–Elgin General Hospital. Died Dec. 11, 2002, aged 80; survived by his wife, Mary, and children Dr. Anne Howe, Dr. Frederick and Laura. Anne Howe stated: “He flew airplanes for many years, including crossing the Atlantic, and he retired to travel, fish and scuba dive. He also flew for the RCAF in WW II.”
Dolman, Robert S., Port Perry, Ont.; Queen's University, 1952; family medicine; CCFP; former casualty officer, Sunnybrook Medical Centre; pharmaceutical research, Eli Lily and Company; assistant professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto. Died Nov. 2, 2002, aged 83; survived by his wife, Patricia.
Dubuc, Gustave A., Saint-Laurent (Qué.); Université de Montréal, 1941; ophtalmologie. Décédé le 24 octobre 2002, à l'âge de 91 ans; laisse son épouse.
Dykes, Robert H., Prince George, BC; University of Alberta, 1968; former staff, Prince George Regional Hospital. Died Nov. 10, 2002, aged 58.
Garner, Peter R., Ottawa; Cambridge University (England), 1968; internal medicine; FRCPC; former staff, Ottawa Civic Hospital; consulting staff, Ottawa General Hospital; cofounder, in-vitro fertilization clinic, Civic Hospital; professor, University of Ottawa. Died Nov. 10, 2002, aged 58. Colleague Erin Keely told the Ottawa Citizen: “Many women have healthy children because of him.”
Parrott, John E., Uxbridge, Ont.; University of Toronto, 1943; RCAMC, WW II; former staff, Scarborough General Hospital; president, Toronto East Medical Association. Died Nov. 10, 2002, aged 87. “He was one of the original doctors who formed Physicians and Surgeons Inc., a predecessor of OHIP, in the early ‘50s. He retired to run a hobby farm.”
Verge, Ernest, Québec (Qué.) Université Laval, 1941; chirurgien général; FICS, FACS, FRCSC; ancien membre du personnel de chirurgie de l'Hôpital Notre-Dame de l'Espérance et de l'Hôpital St-François d'Assise; expert-conseil de l'Hôpital de l'Enfant-Jésus. Décédé le 21 octobre 2002, à l'âge de 86 ans.
Watts, Terrence G., Carrying Place, Ont.; Queen's University, 1962; general surgery; FICS, FRCSC; former chief, surgery, Trenton Memorial Hospital; consultant, Workers' Compensation Board. Died Nov. 9, 2002, aged 66; survived by his wife, Lorna.
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Figure. Dr. Peter Banks Photo by: CMA Archives