THE funeral took place in Hereford this week of a man who played a key role in building the city's new County Hospital.

Many people were present at a service to celebrate the life of Robert (Bob) Tucker who died earlier this month, at the age of 54.

Mr Tucker was formerly the general manger of Mercia Healthcare the private consortium responsible for the hospital and it was his job to oversee its construction and ensure that all its services were appropriate for a new modern hospital.

He left shortly before completion, head hunted by the European Union to go to South Africa and advise the Government there on improving the quality of care in public health.

Mr Tucker had huge experience in working with the NHS, starting at the age of 17 on the engineering side and then transferring to management.

He had various top jobs, working in the South West Region Health Authority and at North Devon Hospital as well as being chief executive of hospitals at Weston-Super-Mare and County Galway in Ireland.

It was in June 1999 that he came to Hereford from Ireland to be in charge of the new hospital complex, earning the respect of a large workforce and Mercia's partners, Hereford Hospitals Trust. Towards the end of the project he was offered the job in South Africa and accepted.

"He had gained all this experience and knowledge over the years and he thought this was a chance to give something back, especially in a place where it was needed so much,'' said his wife Alison.

But sadly his service in Africa was cut tragically short. After 11 months, and on the verge of renewing his contract, he was diagnosed to be suffering with acute myeloid leukaemia. He returned to Hereford immediately for treatment at Cheltenham and the Charles Renton unit in Hereford but died at the County Hospital on January 16.

At the service at St Nicholas Church on Monday, many tributes were paid to his years of work in the health service.

Mr Tucker is survived by his wife Alison, daughter Lucy and granddaughter Willow.