Professor Humayun Maqsood was born in 1941 in Kasur, a small town in Punjab, now part of Pakistan. He studied at Government College, before moving to King Edward Medical College, from where he graduated with an M.B.B.S. in 1965. He travelled to the United Kingdom in 1967, where he worked at the Wallingford Community Hospital as well as at Leeds General Infirmary, and became a Member of the Royal College of Physicians in 1968.
On his return to Pakistan, as part of mandatory service, he joined the Pakistan Armed Forces Short Service as a Medical Specialist. During service, he worked with the Army, Navy and Air Force, as well as establishing the Flight Surgeon School in Sargodha. After his release from service in 1976, he became an Assistant Professor in Medicine at Fatima Jinnah Medical College, attached to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Lahore. He became the Medical Superintendent of the hospital in 1998 and, in the following year, the Chief Executive of the institution. In 2005, he became Principal of Fatima Memorial Hospital Medical and Dental College, where he remained until his death in 2015.
In both his teaching and practice, Professor Maqsood’s emphasis was always on medical care centred around the patient. A firm believer in the primacy of clinical examination, he taught his students the importance of listening to the patient before turning to investigations. In all his interactions, he did not give the instant opinion, the clichéd opinion, or the popular opinion, but a considered analysis derived from practical experience. Moreover, Professor Maqsood’s judgments were never forced upon others, but tended to be offered as complementary or alternative points to be pondered or followed. Respected for his intellect and professionalism, but also admired for the generosity and grace with which he conducted himself, he is missed by his students, colleagues and patients.