Reverend Professor Peter Brunt FRCPE

Born: 18/01/1936
Died: 25/07/2023
Speciality: Gastroenterology
Designatory Letters: CVO OBE MD FRCP FRCPE

Reverend Professor Peter W Brunt CVO OBE MD FRCP FRCPE

Born: Januart 18th 1936 Prestatyn, North Wales

Died: July 25th 2023 aged 87 in Northumberland of complications of Parkison’s disease

A Liverpool graduate, Peter Brunt developed an interest in gastroenterology in the USA and Edinburgh before moving as consultant physician to Aberdeen, where he established his specialty and was influential in action to control alcohol abuse. For 20 years he was physician to the Queen in Scotland. In retirement he was ordained a minister in the Scottish Episcopal Church.

Peter William Brunt’s childhood was marked by movement to wherever his father’s work as a bank manager took the family, so he attended Manchester Grammar School, Cheadle Hume School and Southport Grammar School. Here he developed his lifetime love of walking and climbing in North Wales and the Lake District. Early in his life he discovered two vocations, to medicine and to his church but decided his career was to be medicine; he chose Liverpool University where he met his future wife Anne,  a fellow medical student.  He graduated in 1959 and obtained the two most sought-after house posts, with Professors Sir Henry Cohen and Charles Wells.

This was before the time of formal training, the early years being characterised by residence in hospital and continuous on-call duties with no study leave. Nevertheless, married and with a growing family, Peter passed the London MRCP and obtained a fellowship to spend a year in Johns Hopkins, Baltimore learning clinical genetics with Victor McKusick and researching his MD thesis, but also becoming interested in liver disease. On return to the UK he obtained a post at Edinburgh’s Western General Hospital with Bill Sircus, becoming senior registrar and lecturer in the University, and developing his interest in gastroenterology. A Wellcome clinical fellowship with Sheila Sherlock at the Royal Free Hospital followed, before his appointment in 1970 as consultant physician in Aberdeen, a post he was to hold for 31 years.

His arrival in Aberdeen coincided with rapid developments in gastroenterology, driven by technical advances in endoscopy and in treatment of Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and autoimmune liver disease. The department he developed with his colleagues was to make major contributions to the study of inflammatory bowel disease and the care of patients with gastrointestinal bleeding. Constructive collaboration was Peter’s philosophy and with his colleagues he established a progressive unit, with expertise across all of gastroenterology and liver disease. Amongst many of the innovations were early adoption of video endoscopy, greatly improving training, establishing a research database in inflammatory bowel disease, and a gastrointestinal bleeding unit, which produced big improvements for patients with haemorrhage.  The unit also provided specialist outpatient medical care for the Shetland Isles. The Peter Brunt Centre at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary now houses the outpatient and endoscopy facilities for gastroenterology, a testament to his esteem in Scotland.

As a gastroenterologist, Peter became concerned about the impact of alcohol on health. He was a member and ultimately chairman of the executive of the Medical Council on Alcohol. With their encouragement, he helped organise annual seminars for medical and nursing students from around Scotland. This gradually led to alcohol-related problems gaining a more prominent place in the curriculum in Scottish medical schools. He was an outstanding clinical teacher and his lectures were memorable for his engaging style and wit. He always emphasised the importance of early recognition and prompt treatment of alcohol problems. He also recognised the necessity of tackling the problem upstream by reducing availability.

Stimulated by the example of Sir John Crofton and the success of ASH in combatting smoking, he helped form the Intercollegiate Group on Alcohol, subsequently Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems, containing representatives of all of the Scottish Medical Colleges and tasked with tackling the growing problem of harmful drinking fuelled by availability, advertising and relatively low cost. Simultaneously he was also involved with and later chaired the Scottish Council on Alcohol, subsequently Alcohol Focus Scotland, a national charity working to prevent and reduce alcohol-related harm. This commitment at a national level was also reflected in his concern to improve local services in Alcohol and Drug Action in the Northeast. In all of these endeavours he was a tireless activist, never afraid to challenge ignorance, prejudice, stigma and vested interest, but always with sensitivity, wisdom and good humour

Peter Brunt was an exemplar of the good doctor. He was charming and radiated a confidence that inspired trust, qualities that were appreciated by his patients, students and colleagues. Noted for his clinical acumen, his advice was widely sought and highly regarded.  His clinical notes were distinctive, written in a large, flowing script, usually in a purple or green ink, and completely legible.  Behind the gravitas, however, there was a man of great warmth and kindness. His anecdotes were legendary, for their humour, their impeccable timing, and his mastery of regional accents. To dine with Peter was always convivial and entertaining. 

In 1983 Peter was appointed Physician to the Queen in Scotland in 1983, a role he fulfilled to his retiral in 2001. His service to medicine was recognised in 1994 when he was appointed OBE, and to the Queen in 2001 when he was appointed Commander of the Royal Victorian Order. He was a member of the Council of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and a former President of the Association of Physicians of Great Britain and Ireland.  His academic achievements were recognised by the University of Aberdeen in 1996 with his appointment to a personal chair in medicine.

Peter has a strong lifelong Christian faith and attachment to the Episcopal Church, and before he retired he studied divinity; on the recommendation of the Bishop of Aberdeen he was ordained a non-stipendiary minister in the Diocese of Aberdeen, where he preached regularly, continuing after his retirement in the Lake District.  As a student Peter had met Anne Lewis, who also became a doctor. They were married in 1961. She died in 2019 and they are survived by two daughters, Kristin, a former costume designer who is married to the comedian Bill Bailey (with whom Peter bonded over their shared love of comedy), and Coralie, who works with autistic children; a third daughter, Nicola, a General Practitioner, sadly died in 2020.

Peter Brunt will be remembered fondly by many patients, by the medical students and junior doctors whom he taught over the years, and by his colleagues for his leadership and the example he set.  Above all he will be missed by his family and by those who were privileged to call him a friend.

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Alastair McKinlay, Bruce Ritson, and Anthony Seaton