KNIGHT OF ST. ANDREW
For extraordinary and outstanding achievement and merit in service to Barbados and to humanity at large.
SIR RICHARD CHRISTOPHER HAYNES, KA, was born at Newbury, St. George on the 10th of June, 1936, to Clifford and Muriel Haynes.
He received his early education at the Workman’s Junior School, St. George’s Boys School and the institution on Crumpton Street, where he was awarded a Barbados Scholarship in Classics in 1956. But like other great Barbadian classical scholars, his ambition was to serve his country in the field of medicine.
And so he proceeded to the University of Edinburgh, which for 150 years was the medical mecca for Barbadians. He graduated in 1963 and interned at the Royal Infirmary. He then became a Research Fellow and Registrar at the University of Edinburgh. In 1967 he passed the MRCP (Edinburgh.) exams and returned home.
This was the beginning of a distinguished career in Barbados. Between 1967 and 76 he was Head of the Department of Medicine; Senior Physician Specialist; Chief of Medical Staff; and founder and Head of the Intensive Care Unit of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital; this development saved hundreds of lives over the years, from leptospirosis and tetanus to heart attacks, and symbolized the era of modern medical technology. He promoted post-graduate medical education, inspiring youngsters like me! He established links with other centres for specialist training of UWI Medical graduates, and worked to transform the QEH from a secondary care institution to a tertiary care teaching hospital of quality.
In 1978 Dr. Haynes was awarded the Fellowship of the Royal College of Edinburgh. He is now Honorary Consultant Physician at QEH and in 1998 he chaired the QEH Commission, charged to create a ten year development plan.
At university he played a dynamic role in student politics, useful training for his entry into elective politics at home in 1978, when he became a Member of the House. He was principal Opposition spokesman on Finance in 79, Minister of Finance in 86/87 and Leader of the Opposition between ‘89 and ‘91. He retired from this arena in 1998.
With elective politics in the background, he has concentrated his energy on numerous community projects designed to help the young, the old and the poor.
On the domestic front, Sir Richard is married to Dr. Carol Jacobs, known to many as the AIDS czar, or czarina, of Barbados, and they are the parents of two sons, Richard and Kashka.
The Accolade of KNIGHT OF ST. ANDREW is being conferred in recognition of his outstanding contribution to Barbados, especially in the area of health care.
