By Martin Johnston for NZ Doctor
Dr Richard Tyler. Photo: Supplied / NZ Doctor
The man who died on Tuesday after being hit by a falling branch during high winds in Wellington was Richard Tyler, a specialist GP in the city, who, for many years, had been at the heart of medical and primary care governance.
The capital was the subject of a MetService wind warning. Reports were made just before 9.30am that a man had suffered critical injuries on a Mount Victoria trail near Lookout Road, police said.
A resident of Hataitai, Kirsten Johnstone, told RNZ she found a man lying unconscious under a tree, and it was clear he had been hit on the head. She called an ambulance, and he was taken to hospital, where he died soon after.
Dr Tyler's roles included being chair of the Medical Assurance Society (MAS), Compass Health, the Wellington Independent Practitioners Association (WIPA) and bpac NZ, and he was involved in setting up the Wellington After Hours Medical Centre. At MAS, he had been a director for 37 years, including 21 years as chair, at the time of his retirement from the organisation in 2017.
The then full-time Johnsonville GP had considered leaving earlier, but no successor was apparent, New Zealand Doctor Rata Aotearoa reported at the time.
"People were happy with what I was doing, and I enjoyed the role," Dr Tyler said. "I had a good CEO [Martin Stokes], which always helps immensely."
Earlier, in 2014, when he retired as chair of Compass, New Zealand Doctor wrote that he had had a hand in primary care governance since WIPA was formed with six practices in 1995. He served on and/or chaired organisations that eventually became Compass Health.
Another Wellington specialist GP, Richard Medlicott, spoke today of Dr Tyler's legacy.
"He was a great guy - fun to be around, smart and hard-working," Dr Medlicott said.
Dr Tyler was awarded his medical degree at the University of Otago in 1973.
The scene of the fatal accident. Photo: RNZ/Mark Papalii
* This story originally appeared on NZ Doctor
