William Ivor Neil Kessel (10 February 1925 – 30 December 2003) was a British psychiatrist with expertise in attempted suicide and alcoholism. He trained at the

Maudsley Hospital The Maudsley Hospital is a British psychiatric hospital in south London. The Maudsley is the largest mental health training institution in the UK. It is part of South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, and works in partnership with the I ...

under Sir Aubrey Lewis, before working with Michael Shepherd at the General Practice Unit. He moved to Edinburgh as part of G. M. Carstairs' unit on Psychiatric Epidemiology, and then on to the University of Manchester as a professor of Psychiatry where he was advisor on alcoholism to the Department of Health and Social Security (DHSS).

Early life and education

Kessel was born on 10 February 1925, the only son of a General Practitioner in North London. He was educated at

Highgate School Highgate School, formally Sir Roger Cholmeley's School at Highgate, is a co-educational, fee-charging, private day school, founded in 1565 in Highgate, London, England. It educates over 1,400 pupils in three sections – Highgate Pre-Preparato ...

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, and

University College Hospital University College Hospital (UCH) is a teaching hospital in the Fitzrovia area of the London Borough of Camden, England. The hospital, which was founded as the North London Hospital in 1834, is closely associated with University College Lo ...

(UCH). He was awarded Distinction in his Diploma in Psychological Medicine (DPM) (the standard psychiatric qualification at that time) by Sir Aubrey Lewis at the

in South London.

Research

He conducted research with Michael Shepherd at the General Practice Research Unit at the Maudsley Hospital, where he contributed the concept of 'conspicuous psychiatric morbidity' - which describes the amount of psychiatric disorder known to a General Practitioner. He also conducted a study on neurotic disorder in general practice with Shepherd. In the early 1960s he moved to the University of Edinburgh as part of a research unit on the Epidemiology of Mental Disorders funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) which later changed its name to the Unit on Psychiatric Epidemiology.

Teaching and service development

In Manchester Neil Kessel developed the District General Hospital model of psychiatry, overseeing new buildings at Withington Hospital and Manchester Royal Infirmary, and leading on the teaching of medical students and post-graduate doctors. He became Dean of the Medical School at the University of Manchester. He appointed his fellow Maudsley trainee David Goldberg as Professor in Manchester.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kessel, Neil 1925 births 2003 deaths British psychiatrists Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh