HOSPICEMOVEMENT

Sir John's attention was not solely directed at the rehabilitation centre and its environs. He also developed an interest in the hospice movement and in helping terminally ill cancer patients, and so opened the Hospice Home Care and the Hospice Pain Care centres

At the other end of the spectrum of disease is prevention, and Golding made his presence felt in that arena as well. Many of the injuries that leave people disabled occur due to motor vehicle accidents, and his concerns about this led to the initiation of the National Road Safety Council of Jamaica, an organisation charged with introducing safe-driving laws

At the time of his death, breathalysers had been introduced, and he was negotiating with the Government over legal requirements for seat belts and crash helmets, as well as the institution of drug testing.

While directing all the above activities, Golding was also engaged in much research His research included subjects of particular interest in the tropics, such as the bones in sickle cell disease, tuberculosis of the spine, scoliosis and Blount's disease. In 1994, he was elected chairman of the Commonwealth Caribbean Medical Research Council, an organisation promoting and coordinating research within the region.

Golding's work earned him numerous accolades, including the Order of Jamaica (one of the highest decorations the country can give), the Institute of Jamaica's Musgrave gold medal, and being knighted in 1986. His favourite maxim was, “The greatest of all mistakes is to do nothing because we can do so little.” Professor Sir John Golding did not just do a lot; his contribution to our country is of a magnitude few can even approach, and for that, my gratitude to him knows no bounds. He was no “backra master”.