Sir Donald Irvine: an appreciation.

Abstract

Portrait on loan from the GMC. The death of Donald Irvine, aged 83, on 19th November this year marks the passing of one of the giants of medicine. He was among the architects of modern general practice and ushered in the era of professional assessment across the whole of medical practice. The son of a GP who worked from his own home during a bygone era, he was central in driving a new vision for general practice based on training, quality and standards. He kept in touch with what he felt were the essential requirements of general practice; the attributes of a good doctor and the centrality of the patient. He put this succinctly, ‘All patients are entitled to a good doctor’. His death diminishes the number of north-eastern GPs who were once considered the powerhouse of general practice thinking and whose influence stretched across the world during the 70s and 80s. Donald will perhaps be remembered …