Philip Glithero (OW 1976)

The school was informed that Phil died on 20 November 2012. His wife Helen wrote the following obituary:

Phil was educated at MCS and studied medicine at Nottingham University, graduating in 1981. He married Helen, a fellow Nottingham graduate in 1984 and they had three children, Thomas (b 1989), Mark (b 1991) and Emma (b 1993). He was a good husband and father and derived great pleasure from his family. He had a strong Christian faith. In his spare time he enjoyed solving Sudoku puzzles and cycling as well as playing the piano and organ.

Phil recognised his vocation to be a doctor from a young age. He trained to be a surgeon and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh. Having worked in various hospitals in the Midlands, he moved to Birmingham in 1994 to take up a post as consultant paediatric orthopaedic surgeon. He briefly worked at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore and then for the rest of his life divided his time between the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital and the Birmingham Children’s Hospital. He was still working ten days before his death from cancer.

Phil specialised in treating children with neuromuscular conditions, particularly cerebral palsy. He developed the service for children with disabilities in the West Midlands by holding regular school clinics, setting up a gait analysis service and pioneering complex surgical techniques as well as helping to develop the use of Botulinum to improve movement. In addition he worked tirelessly on various hospital management committees and became Clinical Director for Orthopaedics at both hospitals.

Phil was a deeply compassionate man and a highly regarded surgeon. He worked hard to use his knowledge and surgical skills to improve the lives of some of the most vulnerable children. He was always approachable and relaxed, willing to take time with both patients and students. He is remembered for his dry sense of humour, his fierce loyalty to friends and colleagues and his dogged determination to provide the best possible service. He is greatly missed by many.