Dr Tim Betts, MB, ChB, DPM, FRCPsych

It was with sorrow that Epilepsy Action learned of the recent death of Dr Tim Betts. Our thoughts and condolences are with his family at this sad time. Dr Betts was a former consultant neuropsychiatrist specialising in epilepsy at the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital in Birmingham. He was also a clinical reader in psychiatry at the University of Birmingham. He led the Birmingham neuropsychiatry service through the 1980s and 1990s and was the medical director of the Birmingham University Seizure Clinic. He retired in 2003. Tim Betts had a connection with Epilepsy Action (British Epilepsy Association or BEA as it was known then) that spanned across five decades starting in the 1960s. Being involved with the charity over such a long period of time, it is not surprising that he was present and influential in several key moments in the Association’s history and development. He first came to the notice of the charity in October 1967 when he was a psychiatric registrar carrying out research in the Birmingham area. In 1972 he was invited to join BEA’s medical advisory committee which directed the charity’s research activity. He remained on the committee until 1983. In 1981 he was elected by the members of BEA to become a member of the council of management, the trustee governing body of the charity, and was immediately elected by his fellow trustees to become a member of the council’s executive committee. He went on to serve as vice chairman of the council between 1982 and 1985, chairman of the council between 1985 and 1991 and chairman of the executive committee between 1985 and 1990.