HELEN LESTER JOINED THE EQUIP NETWORK AS A UK REPRESENTATIVE IN 2011.
Even though Helen participated in the meeting held in London in 2010 and held a brilliant workshop at the EQuiP invitational conference in Copenhagen 2011, the meeting where most of us met her for the first time was held in Zagreb, Croatia. The theme was accreditation, and Helen proved to be a brilliant star of a group comprising so many extraordinary GPs from all over Europe. During the meeting, she managed to organize the work in her kind, friendly, yet efficient way, and within a few months we had a publication accomplished and published in the British Journal of General Practice on practice accreditation, based on a survey among EQuiP members with 100% participation.
After the sad news that Helen recently passed away, EQuiP members have expressed their feelings of appreciation of her work and personality as well as their deep remorse. I will here quote a few of their words in memorial of Helen: ‘As a young GP, I always looked at Helen as a role model, a “beacon of light.” She was one of those rare colleagues that enlightened the convulsive times that general practice is facing all throughout the world, and tried to counterbalance the mechanization of times, with more humanism and dedication to patients. Her legacy is profound and will endure for many decades; I’m sure of that.
From her recent presentation at the 2012 James Mackenzie lecture, I can recall one of many of her knowledgeable sayings: ‘GPs need to remember that we can be the holders of hope.’
She was a diva of general practice and family medicine.
I met Helen only once and shortly in Zagreb, but the impression of the encounter was stunning. She was such a noble yet friendly person with deep knowledge and ability to inspire and excite interest about everything she took part in.
I remember Helen particularly for the help she gave me in the group on quality indicators. She joined our work group in London, and her input was extremely helpful.
Although I met her only a few times (at our meetings), I shall always remember her as someone who was full of energy, passionate about her work, and always had something worthwhile and important to say during our discussions.
Helen had an incredible energy and academic innovation, and she leaves a wonderful amount of achievement behind her which is a credit to her, her family, the RCGP and universities where she worked. No doubt her academic legacy will stimulate many others to continue to work on the issues that she was passionate about, quality improvement in general practice and improvement of mental health in primary care.
Helen is and will be sorely missed by us all in EquiP, and I am sure by all those in General Practice in Britain. She was a very special person who managed to touch us all in the short time that we had the privilege to work with her.
We wish to convey our deepest sympathy to her family.