New road named after ‘brilliant’ emergency doctor

Staff at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh have paid tribute to a “brilliant” former colleague by naming a road on the hospital campus after him.

Colleagues have honoured the late Dr Robin Gordon Mitchell by naming the new road “Robin Mitchell Way”.

The road winds round the back of the Emergency Department at the RIE where Dr Mitchell became a leading figure and made a huge impact on his patients and colleagues alike, and which led to him being described as “the best emergency physician they had ever seen”.

They gathered together at the end of October outside the ED to formally unveil the road sign that will serve as a lasting reminder of Dr Mitchell.

Sadly Dr Mitchell died from pancreatic cancer on 7^th of July 2010, but his friends and patients are keen that his memory lives on around the hospital campus.

At the start of his career, Dr Mitchell trained in emergency medicine in Edinburgh before taking up his first consulting post in Christchurch Hospital in New Zealand.

In 2002, Dr Mitchell returned to Edinburgh where his reputation grew. He loved life and threw himself into everything he did including developing the first high fidelity simulator-based course in Scotland.

Robin had a saying “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference”.  It was this positive attitude that would help improve a shift, department or patient’s life. It also helped Dr Mitchell advance to a new post – Training Programme Director and Regional Specialty Advisor for the South East Scotland.

Robin returned to New Zealand in 2007 and worked in Auckland City Hospital for three short years as Director of Emergency Medicine Training before his terminal illness. He leaves a wife Jo and daughter Abigail.

As well as the physical reminder of Dr Mitchell, a fellowship has also been developed in his honour.

The Robin Mitchell Medic 1 Fellowship is awarded to the Scottish Emergency Medicine Trainee who can most closely grasp and deliver the values that Dr Mitchell held so dear, and embodied in his daily practice.

The successful student is awarded up to £5000 biennially to cover travel, accommodation and living expenses. This will help to pursue a four to six week placement in Emergency Medicine in a different hospital from their base one to advance their clinical experience.