A tribute to Dr Aggrey Burke
We are deeply saddened by the death of Dr Aggrey Burke, the NHS’s first Black British consultant psychiatrist.
Born in Jamaica and arriving in the UK in 1959, Dr Burke went on to shape mental health care and education over a career spanning more than 40 years. As a consultant psychiatrist and senior lecturer at St George’s Hospital, Tooting, and later Chair of the Transcultural Psychiatry Society, he challenged the profession to confront the impact of racism, poverty and inequality on mental health.
Dr Burke was among the first clinicians to question the disproportionate detention of Black men in secure mental health settings. He fought tirelessly against discrimination so that mental health services could be fairer, more humane and more just.
His legacy continues through the Aggrey Burke Fellowship for Black Medical Students, run by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, which supports and inspires future generations to pursue careers in psychiatry and to carry forward his commitment to equity, excellence and social justice in mental health care.
Consultant Psychiatrist Dr Nicola Omu has written the following tribute:
“I worked with Aggrey as his senior house officer in the late 1990s, seeing patients at the old Atkinson Morley Hospital and Clare House under his guidance. From the beginning, what struck me most about Aggrey was his generosity - with his time, his knowledge, and his attention. Our supervision sessions were never hurried or transactional. They often stretched well beyond 5pm as conversation with Aggrey flowed so easily. We talked not only about patients and psychiatry but about life more broadly, and I always came away feeling both supported and enriched.
“Aggrey was a thoughtful and compassionate psychiatrist. He had a particular gift for working with patients whose difficulties were complex and longstanding and whom others had found hard to help, approaching them with patience, curiosity and an unwavering belief in their humanity. He had a rare ability to make patients feel genuinely heard and respected, and he brought the same warmth and curiosity to his colleagues. He modelled a kind of psychiatry that was humane, reflective and grounded in real connection, qualities that stayed with me long after our formal working relationship ended.
“After Aggrey retired and I had become a consultant myself, he would still think of me. Every now and again, an email would arrive with an article he had come across and knew I would appreciate, usually accompanied by a gentle enquiry about how I was keeping. Those messages spoke volumes about the sort of person he was - intellectually engaged, generous in spirit and quietly attentive to others, even at a distance.
“Aggrey was a kind, wise and gentle soul. He leaves behind a legacy that lives on in the many patients he helped and the colleagues he influenced and encouraged. I feel very fortunate to have known him and to have worked alongside him. He will be remembered with great affection and respect, and his loss is keenly felt.”
We honour Dr Aggrey Burke’s legacy and extend our condolences to his family, friends, colleagues and all those whose lives and work he transformed.
