Dr Leila Keys

Dr Leila Keys was born in Chennai (Madras) on 7 October 1926 and died in London on 12 September 2007. Leila obtained her MBBS from Madras in 1950 and initially practiced medicine in southern India before arriving in the UK in 1957 to work in obstetrics. However, she switched her interests to psychiatry and obtained her DPM in 1970 followed by her MRCPsych in 1973. Leila's earlier psychiatric jobs were at Horton Hospital, Netherne Hospital, The Maudsley Hospital, and at West Middlesex and Springfield Hospitals.

In July 1973 Leila was appointed as a Consultant Psychiatrist at St Bernard's Hospital where she remained until 1979. From 1980 onwards she became a successful private practitioner specialising in eclectic psychotherapies and remained a Visiting Consultant at The Roehampton Priory Hospital until her retirement 2 years ago. In later years Leila took to writing and was one of the winners on two occasions of The Asham Prize for short stories by women. Her short stories were subsequently published in anthologies entitled The Catch and Harlot Red. A number of Leila's writings were also broadcast on Radio 4 in the late 1990s, including a specially commissioned story for the 50th anniversary of the Partition of India.

Leila will be sadly missed by her husband, Tony, by her three children from a previous marriage, and by a large number of colleagues and patients to whom she provided serene wisdom, a very philosophical approach and kind friendship.