Richard Wells (nurse)

Malcolm William James Richard Wells, FRCN (19 June 1941 – 6 January 1993), commonly known as Richard J. Wells, was a British nurse, nursing adviser and health care administrator.[1] He was noted for being at the forefront of contributions to Aids nursing.

Richard Wells
FRCN
Born(1941-06-19)June 19, 1941
DiedJanuary 6, 1993(1993-01-06) (aged 51)
Occupationnurse leader
Known forShaping the nursing response to HIV infection and AIDS in the UK

Early life

Wells was born in South Africa during World War II. He spent time working in a family business in Leeds and then trained in psychiatric nursing.[2]

Career

Wells' career in nursing was largely based at the Royal Marsden Hospital, which he joined in 1977 and where he held various positions, including Director of the Marie Curie Rehabilitation Centre.[2] He was awarded a Florence Nightingale fellowship to study in America in 1981.[3]

Wells advocated for cancer patients to know their prognosis and supported the use of complementary therapies in holistic care.[3]

He served as a consultant to a host of organizations, including the World Health Organization, the International Union Against Cancer, the International Council of Nurses and the European Oncology Society.

In the early 1980s, Wells helped to care for people with early cases of AIDS, including Terrence Higgins.[4] He began to work with colleagues to lobby for awareness of HIV and Aids and improvements in care and was known for saying in regards to nursing that "if we get it right for Aids we've got it right for everybody".[5][6]

As Oncology Nursing Adviser at the Royal College of Nursing, and as the first nurse member of the government expert advisory group on Aids appointed in 1985, Wells helped shape the nursing response to HIV infection and AIDS in the UK.[1][7][8]

Wells featured in Bright Eyes, a documentary about Aids broadcast in 1984, as an expert on Aids and nursing.[9] He travelled the UK to educate people about Aids, work to dispell "AIDS paranoia" and encourage people to use condoms to prevent the spread of Aids.[10] Wells also discussed the problems faced by nurses with Aids and discrimination within the nursing profession.[11]

Wells was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Nursing in 1987.[12]

In 1991, Wells spoke of the possibility if a future where people with Aids might be rehabilitated, and publicly announced that he had Aids.[2][3]

Death and commemoration

Wells died as a result of complications from Aids in London in January 1993, with his long term partner Stephen beside him.[2][13] He was remembered as an "Aids nursing pioneer".[14]

In 1999, Wells was recognised as one of the Nursing Standard's "Nurses of the Millennium".[3] An award in his name funded travel for a winning nurse to attend the Association of Nurses Aids Care Conference.[15]

The Richard Wells Research Centre at West London University is named in his honour.[16]

Ruth Sims, exective of Mildmay International, cited Wells as a key influence and supporter in her career.[17]

References

  1. ^ a b "Obituary: Richard J. Wells". The Independent. 9 January 1993. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d Snee, Tom (14 January 1993). "Richard Wells". The Guardian. p. 35.
  3. ^ a b c d Snee, Tom (1999). "Holistic care". Nursing Standard. 13 (36): 20. doi:10.7748/ns.13.36.20.s37. PMID 10497540. ProQuest 219796100 – via Proquest.
  4. ^ Berridge, Virginia (1996). AIDS in the UK: The Making of a Policy, 1981-1994. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-820472-5.
  5. ^ Croston, Michelle; Hodgson, Ian (5 May 2021). Providing HIV Care: Lessons from the Field for Nurses and Healthcare Practitioners. Springer Nature. ISBN 978-3-030-71295-2.
  6. ^ Clews, Colin (3 February 2017). Gay in the 80s: From Fighting our Rights to Fighting for our Lives. Troubador Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-1-78803-674-0.
  7. ^ Gever, Martha; Parmar, Pratibha; Greyson, John (17 June 2013). Queer Looks. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-64825-0.
  8. ^ "Medical News". British Medical Journal (Clinical Research Edition). 290 (6469): 716–717. 1985. ISSN 0267-0623. JSTOR 29518489.
  9. ^ Gever, Martha (1987). "Pictures of Sickness: Stuart Marshall's "Bright Eyes"". October. 43: 109–126. doi:10.2307/3397567. ISSN 0162-2870. JSTOR 3397567.
  10. ^ Helm, Toby (24 October 1987). "Grimsby's grim AIDS warning". Grimsby Evening Telegraph. p. 1.
  11. ^ Ritchie, Mike (8 April 1987). "Nurses' Plight on Death Bug". Daily Record. p. 19.
  12. ^ "RCN Fellows and Honorary Fellows". Royal College of Nursing. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  13. ^ Allen, Daniel (13 January 1993). "Tributes flood in for Richard Wells - 'a very special man'". Nursing Standard. 7 (17): 6. doi:10.7748/ns.7.17.6.s6. ISSN 0029-6570.
  14. ^ "So farewell then...". The Guardian. 31 December 1993. p. 49.
  15. ^ "HIV nursing awards: entries invited". Paediatric Nursing. 11 (4): 4. 1 May 1999. doi:10.7748/paed.11.4.4.s3. ISSN 0962-9513.
  16. ^ The Richard Wells Research Centre site
  17. ^ Maslin, Anna M. (2005). Women at Work: Perspectives, Experiences and Tips. Northumbria University Press. ISBN 978-1-904794-10-3.