Peter Andersen

Peter Andersen was born in India, the oldest of four children whose parents were both medical missionaries, originally from Norway. Peter’s education included schools in southern India and Norway, Epsom College, and, for his medical studies, first University College London and then Oxford University Medical School. After full registration he spent a few years as a medical journalist and editor with Hospital Medicine and Update. He then returned to clinical practice, training as a GP and joining the UCL student health service practice in 1976, where he stayed for the rest of his professional career. He was a strong supporter of the integration of what were originally separate student health services, which were mainly funded and organised by their “parent” universities, with mainstream NHS general medical practices.

Considerable resistance to such change was encountered, but gradually the practice developed its unrestricted medical services for the local residents, becoming one of the “beacon practices” of the area, growing from small beginnings to its current status with more than 15 000 patients. A vigorous supporter of the NHS, Peter was opposed to the involvement of big business in its development. He was especially outraged that a Labour prime minister should have introduced PPI (the so called public private initiative), arguing prophetically that, although this might hide capital expenditure on the NHS in government budgets, it would in fact vastly increase overall spending as health authorities paid private businesses contractually fixed high rents for their new hospitals, far into the future.

Peter pursued his firmly held views with his characteristic calm and relaxed reasonableness, only sometimes manifesting the passion with which he held them. More usually he would emphasise a fundamental concern for the welfare of patients that he assumed all would share, a concern he demonstrated on a daily basis in his interactions with his own patients, among whom he had an enormous following. His reputation was as a kind and listening doctor who had that special gift of making his patients feel that they were the only ones who mattered.

He had retired about two years earlier from his long held post as head of the student health service at University College, London, and senior partner of one of the largest NHS general practices in Camden. A passionate supporter and advocate of the NHS and a GP much loved by patients and colleagues alike, he is mourned by a wide circle, in addition to his family and friends.

He leaves his wife, Angela; two daughters; and two grandchildren.