Richard Scott (1914 – 28 November 1983) was a Scottish

medical doctor A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the study, diagnosis, prognosis ...

who was the first professor of

general practice General practice is personal, family, and community-orientated comprehensive primary care that includes diagnosis, continues over time and is anticipatory as well as responsive. Definitions A general practitioner (GP) is a doctor who is a consu ...

. He worked as an academic general practitioner (GP) in Edinburgh. He was involved with setting up the first ever university general practice in 1948, developed the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

's general practice teaching unit and in 1963 was appointed to the first academic chair in general practice.

Early life

Richard Scott was born in 1914. He was educated at

Beath High School Beath High School is a non-denomational state secondary school in Cowdenbeath, Fife. The school is run by Fife Council and the current roll stands at around 1400 pupils aged from 11 to 18. It serves Cowdenbeath and Kelty and the villages of Cr ...

in Fife. He studied at the

and graduated with an

MB ChB A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education tradi ...

in 1936. While working in general practice, he completed a research for an MD degree. He served in the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...

1939 to 1945 during which time he attained the rank of lieutenant colonel. During this time he was posted to locations in North Africa, Sicily, Italy and India.

Academic GP

After demobilisation he studied for a Diploma in Public Health and having performed the best was awarded the gold medal. In 1946 Scott was appointed as a lecturer in the department of public health and social medicine at the University of Edinburgh. With the introduction of the National Health Service, dispensaries were no longer needed. In Edinburgh, the premises of

Royal Public Dispensary of Edinburgh The Public Dispensary of Edinburgh was the first free-of-charge hospital in Scotland. History Edinburgh has a history of providing free medical care to the poor. In first meeting of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, in 1681, the F ...

in West Richmond Street was converted into the first ever university general practice. On 5 July 1948, Scott's general medical practice opened to serve the health needs of a local community while also having academic links to the University of Edinburgh. In 1952, the University received a grant from the

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...

. A second practice was acquired by the university, and Scott was appointed director of the general practice teaching unit. During that decade the University of Edinburgh's general practice teaching unit was developed. In 1963, the General Practice Teaching Unit became the Department of General Practice, the world's first independent department of General Practice. Scott was appointed as the James Mackenzie Professor of General Practice, the first person to be a professor in that clinical specialty. He gave his inaugural lecture on 19 February 1964. He gave the eleventh James MacKenzie lecture in the Great Hall of Tavistock House on 21 November 1964. He gave the Albert Wander Lecture in 1967 on "Academic Departments of General Practice". 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) formed in 1952 and Scott was honorary secretary of the RCGP's Scottish Council 1953–1969. He retired from medicine in 1979. He died on 28 November 1983, at the age of 69, after a long illness.

Awards and honours

In 1979, he received the Baron Dr ver Heyden de Lancey Memorial Award.

Personal life

He married Ella and they had two daughters and three sons.

Memorials

A lecture is held annually by the University of Edinburgh, which is named in his honour. A

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...

was unveiled on Mackenzie House in June 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Richard 1914 births 1983 deaths People educated at Beath High School Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Academics of the University of Edinburgh 20th-century Scottish medical doctors Scottish general practitioners Fellows of the Royal College of General Practitioners