My dear friend Aidan Halligan did not wake up yesterday morning - he passed away with no warning - a great shock for his wife and daughters, extended family and friends.
Aidan was a great inspiration to many people - he had the great gift of taking the time to really listen to people whatever their status or position. He was determined to make a difference particularly to the downtrodden, the homeless and those living in deprivation and poverty.
He loved to weave stories interspersed with quotes such as Michelangelo’s:
"‘The tragedy about life is not that we set our heights too high and fail, but we set our sights too low and succeed.''
He would sometimes say 'Martin Luther King said ‘I have a dream’, you remember that great speech? Imagine if he had said ‘I have a strategic plan.’
Aidan was one of the good guys - he inspired leaders to do more and all of us to expect more… I was in the first cohort of the Leadership Course run by the NHS Staff College which Aidan built at UCLH on Euston Road - I noted the comments he made at our first meeting:
'Leadership is doing the right thing on a bad day… and going into the unknown with courage. People respect courage and they respect compassion. We know when we see a leader. They inspire us and when we’re inspired we become determined. And when we are determined we go further. That’s what leadership is about… and it’s your example that counts, not your rank. And if you care about patients to the point of being selfless, people will always respect that.'
Aidan used to say to me ‘I try to live every day as if it’s my last' - I urged him to slow down as he would only hasten the coming of his last day. It is hard to believe that his boundless energy has gone - Aidan’s tireless support for so many people has left a void and the world felt a little dimmer yesterday.
Dr Chris Hewitt, 28th April 2015
Aidan was a great inspiration to many people - he had the great gift of taking the time to really listen to people whatever their status or position. He was determined to make a difference particularly to the downtrodden, the homeless and those living in deprivation and poverty.
He loved to weave stories interspersed with quotes such as Michelangelo’s:
"‘The tragedy about life is not that we set our heights too high and fail, but we set our sights too low and succeed.''
He would sometimes say 'Martin Luther King said ‘I have a dream’, you remember that great speech? Imagine if he had said ‘I have a strategic plan.’
Aidan was one of the good guys - he inspired leaders to do more and all of us to expect more… I was in the first cohort of the Leadership Course run by the NHS Staff College which Aidan built at UCLH on Euston Road - I noted the comments he made at our first meeting:
'Leadership is doing the right thing on a bad day… and going into the unknown with courage. People respect courage and they respect compassion. We know when we see a leader. They inspire us and when we’re inspired we become determined. And when we are determined we go further. That’s what leadership is about… and it’s your example that counts, not your rank. And if you care about patients to the point of being selfless, people will always respect that.'
Aidan used to say to me ‘I try to live every day as if it’s my last' - I urged him to slow down as he would only hasten the coming of his last day. It is hard to believe that his boundless energy has gone - Aidan’s tireless support for so many people has left a void and the world felt a little dimmer yesterday.
Dr Chris Hewitt, 28th April 2015
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