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Your support makes all the difference.William Styles has been an important influence in the de- velopment of general practice in this country, particularly through the education of young general practitioners.
He entered general practice in 1968 at a time when its educational arrangements were in their infancy and when general practitioners were poorly regarded by many specialists. His vision of the potential for general practitioners to deliver high-quality care, provided that they had appropriate education, led him into a variety of posts. His particular concern was the quality of training for young doctors during their period in hospital, although he was later to broaden this into a strategic view of medical education for general practice.
His most public roles were in the Royal College of General Practitioners, whose North and West London Faculty he joined in 1977 and in which he held positions as an examiner and successively Honorary Secretary, Vice-Chairman and, from 1993, Chairman of Council. During much of this time he was also Honorary Joint Secretary of the Joint Committee on Postgraduate Training for General Practice.
He was Regional Adviser for General Practice for the North West Thames Region for 13 years from 1983, with wide responsibilities for the provision of postgraduate education for general practice within that region. This gave him the practical background and close contact with working general practitioners which informed the development of his ideas.
Styles was well qualified for the positions which he was to fill. Having started his education at Dunfermline High School, he won Scholarships at both the City of Bath School and St Catherine's College, Cambridge, where he gained First Class honours in the Natural Science Tripos. He moved to St Mary's Hospital, London, to complete his clinical train- ing and was there awarded the Harmsworth Scholarship before graduating in 1966.
He was an early trainee in general practice before this became mandatory and began work at the Grove Health Centre, London, with Dr Stuart Carne as his trainer. Dr Carne was closely involved in the Royal College of General Practitioners and later became its President. Styles joined the practice after his training was complete. The association was a fruitful one, and helped the practice to become the first in the country to achieve accreditation by the British Standards Institute, in 1994.
He continued to contribute to academic debate through many publications in medical literature and lectures, including the 1990 William Pickles Lecture, in memory of the first President of the Royal College of General Practitioners.
Styles was an advocate for the involvement of patients in their own care and for the rights of patients. He brought this perspective to a range of issues and it was recognised by the Medical Protection Society, of whose council he was a member since 1990, when it appointed him to become Chairman of its General Practice Advisory Board. He was also a member of the Board of Governors of Queen Charlotte's Hospital for Women 1975-83 and later of the Hammersmith and Queen Charlotte's Special Health Authority 1982-90.
His concern for standards was recognised by his appointment in 1989 as a member of the Department of Health's Standing Medical Advisory Committee and in 1994 of the Clinical Standards Advisory Group. His services to the NHS were recognised in 1995 by his appointment as OBE.
Despite his professional commitments, he maintained interests outside medicine, including photography, reading and riding horses. He was strongly committed to family life and latterly enjoyed the company of his grandchildren. His appointment as Honorary Medical Officer to Queen's Park Rangers Football Club (1970-83) allowed him to combine medical and sporting interests, although he himself had played rugby while at Cambridge.
At a time when general practice is achieving the recognition for which he had worked so hard, Bill Styles's early death has robbed it of an important leader. His courage in facing a long illness, resulting from cancer of the colon, has been an example to many of his friends and colleagues. During this time he relied heavily on his own general practitioner and in a moving recorded address to a college meeting in November, he reminded his audience of the importance of the personal doctor in such circumstances. The abiding memories of him will be of his contribution to medical education, his ability to manage his enormous workload and of the humour with which he dealt with people and problems. His laugh, a unique characteristic, will long be remembered.
John Toby
William McNeil Styles, physician: born 22 March 1941; general practitioner 1969-96; Regional Adviser in General Practice, North West Thames Regional Health Authority 1983-1995; partner, Grove Health Centre, 1989-1995; Honorary Secretary, Royal College of General Practitioners 1983-89, Chairman 1993- 96; OBE 1995; married 1969 Jill Manderson (one son, three daughters); died 8 March 1996.
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