Robert Somerled Cameron Fergusson
BMJ 2005; 330 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.330.7498.1029-c (Published 28 April 2005) Cite this as: BMJ 2005;330:1029Data supplement
Robert Somerled Cameron Fergusson
Former general practitioner Beauly (b 1923; q Edinburgh 1947), d 16 February 2005.Somerled grew up in the remote peninsula of Ardnamurchan, where his father was a GP, so from the earliest days he was steeped in rural general practice. Clearly having the aptitude he decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and qualified from Edinburgh in 1947, right at the start of the NHS.
Initially he seemed set on a career in obstetrics, the specialty where "you usually started off with one healthy patient and ended up with two." However, when his father became ill it was expected that he return to Ardnamurchan to help out, which he did. On the death of his father he was not appointed to the permanent post and this injustice, as he perceived it, provided the stimulus for his medicopolitical career.
He had a find of stories, one of them from that time involving a visit with his father to the hospital in Fort William where they were struggling to interpret an ECG from their new machine. Somerled’s father looked at the ECG, then asked to examine the patient. His pulse was irregular, and a look in the throat was enough for him to announce that the ECG was a classic example of diphtheritic myocarditis. The hospital doctors were amazed. How could a rural GP make this diagnosis? Simply by examining the patient. Afterwards it became apparent he was probably reading the ECG upside down.
Somerled was appointed as a GP in Lochinver in 1953 and in the same year became a founding member of the RCGP. A paper he wrote while there gives an idea of the commitment of rural GPs in these days. In the exceptionally snowy winter of 1955 he records one single home visit that took nine hours to complete and three others that involved a total of 30 miles by fishing boat, 24 miles by tractor, and 40 miles by helicopter.
He moved to Beauly in 1963 and practised there for a further 25 years until his retirement in 1988. During this time he developed the practice, moving it out of his house to more suitable premises in the village, trained 21 doctors, many of whom have successful careers in general practice, supported the RCGP, and developed his medicopolitical role. He was elected FRCGP in 1978, awarded the MBE in 1989, and made a fellow of the BMA in 2002.
He strongly believed that the NHS could and should provide a good standard of care to all, regardless of wealth and position. Always with meticulous preparation, he worked to achieve a fair balance between these principles and making life reasonable for doctors. His knowledge of rural general practice became legendary and he was an unfailing source of advice for many GPs. He developed the associate practitioner scheme, which became a lifeline for many singlehanders.
After his retirement he remained active in the community, on the heath board, and in the college, becoming provost of the north of Scotland faculty, and wrote the "Tales of a Grandfather" articles in the Hoolet (journal of the RCGP in Scotland), which he named.
As well as his family, he enjoyed history, fishing, and stalking, and had a particular bond with the gillies and stalkers of the glens.
He accepted his declining physical health latterly in a remarkable way and left detailed suggestions for his funeral service, developed over many years, which made me wonder if he might also have written his own obituary. But then he was never one to blow his own trumpet.
He leaves Elizabeth, his wife; a daughter, Margaret; a son, Alistair; and grandchildren.
Few have trained so many doctors, campaigned so effectively for rural general practice, and supported the college so well.
The saying seems apt—"we will not see his like again." [James McLardy]
See more
- Introductory AddressProv Med Surg J October 03, 1840, s1-1 (1) 1-4; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.s1-1.1.1
- Report of the Meeting of the Eastern Branch of the Provincial Association at Bury St. Edmond'sProv Med Surg J October 03, 1840, s1-1 (1) 10-13; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.s1-1.1.10
- Mr. Warburton's Bill for the Regulation of the Medical ProfessionProv Med Surg J October 03, 1840, s1-1 (1) 13-15; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.s1-1.1.13
- An Atlas of Plates, illustrative of the Principles and Practice of Obstetric Medicine and Surgery, with descriptive LetterpressProv Med Surg J October 03, 1840, s1-1 (1) 4; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.s1-1.1.4
- A Practical Treatise on the Diseases peculiar to Women, illustrated by Cases, &cProv Med Surg J October 03, 1840, s1-1 (1) 4-5; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.s1-1.1.4-a