It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Professor Pippa Tyrrell, emeritus Professor of Stroke Medicine at the University of Manchester and retired consultant in stroke medicine at Salford Royal.
After studying medicine at Cambridge and London, Pippa trained in general medicine and neurology in London and completed her MD in dementia research. She finished her senior registrar posts in medicine in Manchester and was appointed as the first consultant in stroke medicine in Manchester at Salford Royal Hospital in 1995, where she set-up the first dedicated stroke service in Manchester. Over the next few years she worked tirelessly to transform the provision of stroke care across the Greater Manchester conurbation, enabling delivery of rapid assessment and hyperacute stroke care with seamless rehabilitation and secondary prevention. Pippa recognised the value of multi-disciplinary stroke care and integrated diverse medical and therapy specialties into the stroke service to meet the needs of patients. She championed the role of nurses and advocated for stroke nurse specialists and nurse consultants.
She was passionate about teaching and trained numerous clinicians, many of whom continue to work in the stroke service at the Northern Care Alliance. Alongside this, she developed a thriving research portfolio spanning acute stroke management, rehabilitation and implementation and became the first Professor of stroke medicine at the University of Manchester. During her distinguished career, Pippa held numerous leadership roles including the clinical lead for the Greater Manchester Clinical Stroke Network, clinical lead for the North-West Stroke Research Network, clinical advisor to the NICE Stroke Guidelines Group, Chair of the British Association of Stroke Physicians Scientific Committee and clinical lead for the Stroke National Audit Programme. Throughout her career, Pippa worked relentlessly to improve the lives of people affected by stroke and was a committed advocate for stroke survivors and their families. She worked with many stroke survivors to ensure their voices were heard and was a trustee and Medical Vice Chair at the Stroke Association. She was awarded an MBE in recognition of her services to stroke care and research.
Pippa will be remembered as a kind, compassionate doctor, teacher, researcher and friend who had the needs of her patients at the forefront of everything she did. She inspired a generation of clinicians and researchers and her legacy is the continued excellence of stroke care and flourishing portfolio of stroke research across Greater Manchester. Pippa will be sorely missed by all who were fortunate enough to know her and work with her. Our sincerest condolences are with her husband Anthony, and children Caitlin, Toby and Olivia.
