Jenny Ackroyd

Ackroyd was born in Leeds.[1] She was the fourth of five children of Peter and Evelyn Ackroyd. Her father was an academic at King's College London.[1] Ackroyd attended James Allen's Girls' School. She studied fine arts and medicine at the University of Cambridge, where she was a member of New Hall.[1] Ackroyd completed her junior doctor training at the Middlesex Hospital, where she was the first woman surgical registrar.[1] In 1986 Ackroyd earned a Master's in surgery at the University of Cambridge; and may have been the first woman to do so.[1]

Ackroyd was a founder of the Royal College of Surgeons Women in Surgical Training programme.[2] In 1987 Ackroyd was appointed as a Consultant Surgeon at the Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust. She raised money to develop a day surgery unit at the hospital.[3] The wing is home to a same-day admission facility, 82 beds and two operating theatres.[3]

In 1992, Ackroyd lost her sight in one eye after developing a melanoma, but continued to work and became known as the "partially sighted, female surgeon from Wareside".[1] She was invited by the Royal National Institute of Blind People to attend the 1993 Women of the Year Lunch.[1]

Ackroyd was responsible for the building of a new surgical wing, which was opened by the health secretary in 2004.[4][5] Ackroyd died on 5 September 2004.[4][6] The Jenny Ackroyd Surgical Symposium is an annual celebration of Ackroyd's life.[7] There is a tree planted in Ackroyd's memory at the Capio Rivers Hospital.[8]

Ackroyd was married to the surgeon Malcolm Lennox. Together they had two children, Sophie and Sandy.[1] Ackroyd was a member of St Mary’s Church Choir.[1]