Dr. Raymond Au, a highly respected psychiatrist at Richmond Hospital and a long-serving clinical faculty member in the UBC Department of Psychiatry, unexpectedly passed away on December 17, 2024.

Amongst his peers, Dr. Au was renowned for his extensive knowledge and expertise in evidence-based therapies to treat a wide range of mental health conditions. Dr. Au’s many patients benefited from his attentive and truly compassionate approaches to mental health. His care and concern for people meant he would often take on a huge workload, providing much-needed coverage for psychiatry in the emergency department as well as the Psychiatric Assessment Unit and the Richmond Mental Health Team.

Dr. Au was not only extremely hard-working but also passionate and deeply committed to his profession. As a testament to the quality of care he provided, Dr. Au was the recipient of a VCH People First Award in 2017 and a nominee for a 2023 RHPS Peer Recognition Award under the category of “Professionally Outstanding.” Over the last 20 years as a valued UBC Psychiatry faculty member, Dr. Au routinely taught PGY2s in psychiatric interviewing in the Emergency Department and provided clinical supervision to countless residents. He was an excellent and enthusiastic instructor, and his teaching evaluations were exceedingly positive.

The passing of Dr. Au is a significant loss to the UBC Department of Psychiatry where he served since 2004, the mental health care team at Richmond Hospital and the mental health community in the region and beyond. He was an outstanding clinician who will be remembered for his tireless dedication to his practice and for his genuine care, warmth and generosity toward his many colleagues, friends, patients, mentees and students.

Donations to the Dr. Raymond Au Memorial Fund will honour Dr. Au’s unwavering commitment to excellence in patient care and his passion for mentoring the next generation of psychiatrists. Your gift will pay tribute to Dr. Au’s life and career by supporting residents at the UBC Department of Psychiatry. Final decisions on the allocation of funds will be made in consultation with Dr. Au’s family.