Behind every great doctor is a supportive family. Throughout his career and life, Dr Barns’ family has provided support and has been his fallback. Dr. Barns now enjoys retirement with his family in Thailand. © WHO 2023
Imagine a life full of adventure and dedicated to service, where one travels around the world, works in war zones, and develops emergency systems in remote villages. That is the life of Dr. Thomas Barns, an obstetrician who spent his life providing medical care to those in need, regardless of their location or circumstances. His journey took him around the world, to war zones and remote villages, where he developed emergency and outreach systems that are still used today.
Dr Barns is today 104 years old, and currently lives with his family in Bangkok, Thailand. He is arguably one of the eldest, if not THE eldest, retired WHO employee.
Born in 1919, Dr. Barns lived in a different world than the one we know today. Dr. Barns graduated from Oxford, United Kingdom as a medical doctor in 1944, during the second world war, and was immediately drafted into the British Army. He married while waiting for his posting, but 3 days into their honeymoon, he received his “Embarkations Orders” to an unknown destination. In convoy, the troopship crossed the seas and after a couple of months reached India where he served as an anesthetist in a frontline mobile surgical unit during the Burma campaign. He returned to Oxford three years later to specialize in obstetrics and gynecology, gaining experience in a junior post while researching his PhD in Pelvic Tuberculosis, which won him the Blair Bell Memorial Lecture at the RCOG London. In 1952 he was appointed the State obstetrician and gynecologist for Johore, Malaysia, and a personal physician to the Sultan. Here, he developed the Flying Squad Service to deliver emergency obstetrics services to remote locations regardless of communist insurgency.
Embarking on a journey of a lifetime: Dr. Barns explores new horizons from India to the UK on November to December 1969, via the Middle East route, with his special jeep that he builds from scratch. He returns to UK after 3 years in Vellore © WHO
Dr. Barns' life was not without danger. At the time, there was political uncertainty in Malaysia, and the area he was working in was a red zone. It was so dangerous that convoys were burnt on the road, and only medical doctors like Dr. Barns could go anywhere they needed to. He drove his specially designed jeep, with medical supplies and operating space on board, to provide emergency care wherever it was needed.
Dr Thomas Barns in 1968 – © WHO
After his work in Malaysia, Dr. Barns returned to England and built the first general hospital after the war called West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven, UK. He was responsible for the OBGYN with the maternity unit being the particular show piece. Prior to his tenure at WHO, he served as a professor for OBGYN and a Deputy Director of the Christian Medical College Institution in Vellore, India from 1966 to 1969, a time which he described it as "the most fulfilling period of his work-life." He then went on to work for the World Health Organization from 1971 to 1978 in the Regional Office in New Delhi, and in the WHO Office in Sri Lanka. As a Regional Advisor for the WHO, Dr. Barns implemented Maternal and Child Health (MCH) programs throughout the region, developing systems to adapt to the needs and beliefs of the people in each area. He trained local midwives and worked in Hindi and other languages that he learnt locally, to update their methods to ensure the best possible care for women and children. Where in 1976, he developed a system to train local midwives in the region to improve their techniques to sterilize equipment. It was one of the techniques he developed to delivering these services in many very varied environments.
Recognizing excellence: Dr Jos Vandelaer, WHO Representative to Thailand present the Certificate of Appreciation on behalf of WHO’s Director General to honor Dr. Barns for his remarkable contributions to his work © WHO 2023
Dr Barns is one of the few people still around whose career started before WHO was established. At the age of 104, the stories about his life and career provide an amazing insight into how the world and health care provision has changed over time. Throughout his career, ‘Health for All” has always been a driving force, even before the concept became core to WHO’s work. He is living testimony to the huge impact a single individual can have on the people he served. A remarkable man with a remarkable career combining service and adventure, Dr Barns is an inspiration to us all.