Mansfield’s reputation was such that Estée Lauder and John Mortimer, of Rumpole of the Bailey fame, were among her celebrity patients. She had the honour of being a guest on Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs in 2020, which led to her being asked to write her new autobiography, Life In Her Hands. She was outraged when the Dean of St Mary’s, Professor Peter Richards, issued a statement that she was appointed “purely and only on merit”. Averil said: “It suddenly must have occurred to him, ‘Oh, perhaps everyone will think we are giving her the job because she is a woman’.”

Life in her hands : the pioneering career of one female surgeon

Averil Mansfield was an ambitious and talented young doctor when she announced, to a senior surgeon, her plan to marry her architect boyfriend.Averil Mansfield, MBE, retiring professor of vascular surgery at St Mary's hospital in London, gives all the answers you don't expect. Was her career one long struggle in a male-dominated profession? "No." Has she encountered hostility from male colleagues? "No." Does she feel that she has been discriminated against? "No." At 5ft 10in, Mansfield was certainly an imposing figure in the operating theatre. She excelled at every stage, scoring top marks in her surgical exams. While she says she experienced little discrimination within her profession, patients would often react with surprise at discovering the gender of ‘Professor Mansfield’.

Averil O. Mansfield (Hardback) - Coles Books Life in Her Hands by Averil O. Mansfield (Hardback) - Coles Books

Of course, women have struggled in the past, but Mansfield, who is 65, insists that surgery can be plain sailing, the perfect career for a woman and.... I believe her. She exudes trust. She is tall, calm, imposing, charming and if I had to have an enormous five-hour, life-threatening operation, I would want her to do it. After I retired in 2003, I took on the chairmanship of the Stroke Association for five years which was a wonderful experience. I went all over the country and really enjoyed watching the average person’s knowledge of stroke develop from almost complete ignorance to quite a sophisticated understanding. I then spent one year as the BMA’s president and another five years as the chairman of the BMA’s board of science in addition to a number of other charitable roles. John William Paulton Bradley (husband), Russell Bradley (step son), Jason Bradley (step son), Lesley Forbes (step daughter)a b "The NHS Heroes Awards". 21 May 2018. ITV. {{ cite episode}}: Missing or empty |series= ( help) I was expected to go down a pole into the ship to administer analgaesia before he could be rescued. Born in 1937, Averil studied at Liverpool University’s School of Medicine and graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine in 1960. Averil began her career at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital before becoming a lecturer in surgery at the University. She later become consultant vascular surgeon at St Mary’s hospital in London. The other problem was that this was the era of the mini skirt, and you can imagine what that meant. Dame Averil says: “At no point did I have my sights set on the top of the ladder, or anything like it. I simply wanted to progress to the next step as I went along, one rung at a time.