Hobart anaesthetist John Madden dies after short illness

A respected Hobart anaesthetist who served the Hobart community for more than three decades has died, leaving behind a legacy of great skill, kindness, compassion and humour.

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A specialist anaesthetist who served the community of Hobart for more than 30 years, John Madden, recently passed away in Hobart after a short illness.

Dr Madden was renowned for his great care for patients and his skills as an anaesthetist throughout his career.

Dr Madden grew up in Launceston under the care of his aunt and uncle after the loss of both of his parents at a young age.

He won an entrance scholarship to the Launceston Church Grammar School where he completed his secondary schooling. He excelled academically and was accepted into the University of Tasmania Medical School in 1972. After gaining his medical degree in 1977, he travelled to Brisbane for his intern year at the Princess Alexandra Hospital.

After completing a residency year at the Royal Canberra Hospital in the ACT Dr Madden took a year off to go travelling in Europe with his wife Sally. Upon his return to Australia he worked in general practice in George Town before successfully applying for an anaesthetic training position at the Launceston General Hospital.

During his first year as an anaesthetic registrar in 1982 Dr Madden became the first anaesthetic trainee from the LGH to pass the anaesthetic First Part exam of the Faculty of Anaesthetists.

Dr John Madden was a well-loved anaesthetist who served the Hobart community for more than 30 years. Picture: Supplied

Dr Madden continued his anaesthetic training in Hobart at the Royal Hobart Hospital as well as at the Royal Children’s Hospital and the Royal Women’s Hospital in Melbourne.

He passed the final exam and became a Fellow of the Faculty of Anaesthetists, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 1985.

In 1986 Dr Madden accepted a position in the Hobart Anaesthetic Group (known universally as “The Group”) and soon after was appointed as a Visiting Medical Officer to the RHH as a consultant anaesthetist.

Dr Madden always excelled at successfully completing the challenging academic requirements of his anaesthetic studies and he was subsequently invited by the Faculty of Anaesthetists (and later the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists) to be an examiner for the final anaesthetic exam.

He undertook his work as an examiner with pride and absolute dedication and he also assisted many anaesthetic trainees successfully prepare for their final exams.

As an anaesthetist Dr Madden was renowned for his excellence, his great knowledge and skills and his absolute calmness in dealing with crises.

He possessed all of the attributes of an ideal anaesthetist with the safety of his patients being paramount.

Dr Madden was extremely popular with work colleagues, surgeons and nurses alike, not only because of his skills as an anaesthetist, but also because he had that rare ability to combine those skills with kindness, compassion and humour.

There was so much more to Dr Madden than his excellence as an anaesthetist. He was a dedicated family man who was devoted to his four children (Sam, Jack, Tom and Alex) and three grandchildren and supported each of them in their individual pursuits throughout their schooling and their adult lives.

Dr Madden was also an accomplished athlete throughout his life particularly in the fields of long-distance running, bike riding and mountaineering.

Dr Madden was always extremely physically fit and enjoyed competing in many of these activities with his children. He completed several marathon races as well as ultra-marathons and was a stalwart veteran of the ‘Run the Overland Track’ event for many years.

During his short illness Dr Madden was cared for by his loving family and his devoted wife Ang and passed away peacefully at home with his family present.

Dr. Andrew Mulcahy – November 2020