In memory of Alexander Winstan Stedmon

It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Alex. He died peacefully at home on Wednesday 13 May 2026 after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. His beloved wife Donna was by his side.

Alex started his career as a hospital porter (a job he loved) and went on to develop a distinguished career, being awarded a PhD and becoming a Professor of Human Factors. Alex served with integrity as the president of the Chartered Institute of Human Factors and won many awards for his work, including the Prince Michael award.

Working with Alex for some 16 years has always been a pleasure and a privilege. Alex was the science auditor on the Patient Safety Learning 'Why investigate?' blog series, including authoring Making wrong decisions when we think they are the right decisions. He was a force in introducing real human factors into healthcare, rather than the pseudoscience that pervades the domain. Collaborating with Alex in training police and other safety critical people it was apparent that he impressed all. Compliments from barristers, police officers and safety directors from many industries flooded in. As his ethics advisor on his projects, I had little to do.

The Human Factors community gathered this week in his home town to say goodbye and, along with the sadness and admiration of his wife’s bravery, all said the same – Alex was, at all times, professional, honest and of the very highest integrity.

Alex is a great loss to healthcare, Human Factors, and science.

Dr Martin Langham & Professor Graham Edgar.

Alex Stedmon