Brian Douglas Keighley (21 May 1948 – 9 November 2015) was a Scottish medical doctor who worked as a

general practitioner A general practitioner (GP) is a doctor who is a Consultant (medicine), consultant in general practice. GPs have distinct expertise and experience in providing whole person medical care, whilst managing the complexity, uncertainty and risk ass ...

(GP) and was the chair of the Scottish Council of the

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union and professional body for physician, doctors in the United Kingdom. It does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The BMA ...

(BMA) from 2009 to December 2014.

Early life

Keighley was born in 1948 and grew up in

Bishopbriggs Bishopbriggs (; ) is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It lies on the northern fringe of Greater Glasgow, approximately from the Glasgow city centre, city centre. Shires of Scotland, Historically in Lanarkshire, the area was once part of ...

. His childhood holidays were spent on

Inchmurrin Inchmurrin () is an island in Loch Lomond in Scotland. It is the largest lake island, fresh water island in the British Isles. Geography and geology Inchmurrin is the largest and most southerly of the islands in Loch Lomond. It reaches a he ...

, an island in Loch Lomond. He was educated at

The Glasgow Academy The Glasgow Academy is a coeducational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school for pupils aged 3–18 in Glasgow, Scotland. In 2016, it had the third-best Higher level exam results in Scotland. Founded in 1845, it is the oldes ...

, then studied at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

graduating with a

medical degree A medical degree is a professional degree admitted to those who have passed coursework in the fields of medicine and/or surgery from an accredited medical school. Obtaining a degree in medicine allows for the recipient to continue on into special ...

in 1972.

Career

In 1974, as a GP trainee, he joined a medical practice in

Balfron Balfron () is a village in the Stirling council area of Scotland. It is situated near Endrick Water on the A875 road, 18 miles (29 km) west of Stirling and 16 miles (26 km) north of Glasgow. Although a rural settlement, it lies within ...

Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling ( ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county of Scotland. Its county town is Stirling.Registers of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. It borders Perthshir ...

. He became a partner at the practice the following year, then a trainer in 1978. He retired from clinical practice in November 2013. He was a member of representative bodies throughout his clinical career. He was an elected member of the Council of the

General Medical Council The General Medical Council (GMC) is a public body that maintains the official register of physician, medical practitioners within the United Kingdom. Its chief responsibility is to "protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the pu ...

(GMC) 1994−2008. From 1997 to 2000 Keighley was Chairman of the Joint Committee on Postgraduate Training for General Practice (JCPTGP)- the organisation that regulated GP training in the UK. In 1998 amendments were introduced that he described as ”stiletto powers”, allowing remedial action at the correct level. He was chair of the Scottish General Practitioners Committee (SGPC) 1995−1998. He was deputy chair of BMA’s Scottish council from July 2007, then elected as chair in August 2009. During his time in these positions he faced issues such as public sector pension reform and NHS contractual change. As the outgoing chair in 2014, Keighley delivered a speech to the BMA’s annual conference in which he directly confronted the issue of the level of taxation needed for adequate healthcare; this generated much comment from politicians. He was a champion of minimum pricing for alcohol. He was member of the council of the

Royal College of General Practitioners The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) is the professional body for general (medical) practitioners (GPs/ Family Physicians/ Primary Care Physicians) in the United Kingdom. The RCGP represents and supports GPs on key issues including ...

(RCGP) from 2000−2008. In 2010 he became the first chair of the RCGP’s Audit Committee. In 1997 he published a book ''Guide to Postgraduate Medical Education'' with Stuart Murray.

Honours and awards

He became a Fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners (FRCGP) in 1990, then became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (FRCPEd) in 2015. In 2006, the BMA awarded Keighley their Association medal. He received a MBE in the

2015 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2015 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

for services to healthcare.

Personal life

His first marriage was to Ruth Maguire and they had two sons together. After this was dissolved, his second marriage was to Lesley Stirling. Away from medicine and politics, he enjoyed angling.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keighley, Brian 1948 births 2015 deaths 20th-century Scottish medical doctors 21st-century Scottish medical doctors Scottish general practitioners Fellows of the Royal College of General Practitioners Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh Members of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of the University of Glasgow