Henry Russell

Former consultant child psychiatrist and drug dependence specialist Maudsley Hospital (b Selby 1921; q St Bartholomew's Hospital 1951; MD, FRCPsych; CBE), d 26 July 1998. Philip was a child psychiatrist who achieved eminence in two other fields: as the describer of amphetamine psychosis and a subsequent authority on drug dependence, and as the screener for health for the General Medical Council.

Born in Yorkshire, he had a strong musical background, which remained for the rest of his life. His grandfather was organist at Selby Abbey, in his home town, and an aunt was a music teacher. He himself was a gifted pianist, who toyed with the idea of becoming a professional, but chose medicine instead. Even this was done late, as he initially had to start training as an actuary before a legacy enabled him to study medicine. After qualifying at the age of 30 Connell did house jobs, and then started training as a psychiatrist at the Maudsley Hospital, where he was successively registrar and senior registrar.

At the Maudsley he was encouraged by a specialist in alcohol and drug problems, D L Davies, to study the effects of amphetamines. These had been used freely during the second world war— generally to combat the effects of sleep loss and fatigue in the armed forces, and in psychiatry in the treatment of depression. Connell's research, which involved personally conducting the accompanying biochemical studies, formed the basis of his MD thesis (1958) and of a subsequent Maudsley monograph, Amphetamine Psychosis, published in 1959. He showed that amphetamines could produce a condition similar though distinct from schizophrenia.

Connell was then appointed to a new consultant post in child and adolescent psychiatry at Newcastle General Hospital. He returned six years later to a similar post at the Maudsley, but soon came to have …