John Gillies (doctor)

John Calum Macdonald Gillies OBE FRCGP FRCPE FRSE is a medical doctor who worked as general practitioner (GP) and who is the Depute Director of the Scottish School of Primary Care. He was formerly the chair of the Scottish Council of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) from November 2010 to November 2014.[1]

John Gillies
Born
North Uist, Scotland
NationalityScottish
EducationUniversity of Edinburgh
Years active1975–present
Known forChair of RCGP Scotland
Medical career
Professiondoctor
FieldGeneral Practitioner
Sub-specialtiesGlobal health

Early career

Gillies was born in North Uist, Scotland.[2] He studied at the University of Edinburgh, qualifying in medicine in 1975. Gilles travelled to Africa, working as a District Medical Officer in Ntcheu District Hospital, Malawi for 3 years.[3] He gained his Membership of the Royal College of Physicians (MRCP) in 1978.[3]

General principal

Gillies returned to the United Kingdom and trained in general practice, gaining his Membership of the Royal College of General Practitioners (MRCGP) in 1985.[3] From 1985 he worked as a GP principal in Glenluce, Wigtownshire.[3] He then moved to Selkirk in the Scottish Borders in 1996 where he worked for the 16 years in until he retired from clinical practise in 2012.[2] During the latter part of this time he was working as a GP trainer.[3]

Academic GP

Gillies was a Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh.[3] He was one of the authors of Distilling the Essence of General Practice which looked at the important and unique advantages of general practice and the development of primary care throughout the UK.[4] Gillies was involved with education initiatives in Africa.[5][6] He is an associate member of the University of Edinburgh's Global Health Academy.[7] Gillies is on the members advisory board of the Wesleyan Assurance Society.[8] He was chair of the Reference Group of the Scottish Government Health Department's Out of Hours Primary Care Review that reported in 2015.[9] He chaired a group that looked into undergraduate medical education in Scotland that reported in 2019.[10]

Gilles was involved with an initiative that presented a book of poems Tools of the Trade to every newly qualified doctor in Scotland.[11][12]

RCGP Scotland chair

Gilles was elected by the members of RCGP's Scottish Council to be chair, taking up the position in November 2010. His priorities as chair were to promote generalism and leadership in general practice.[13] During his time as chair of RCGP's Scottish council he spoke out about health inequalities[14] and about the support needed for GP practices to improve quality.[15] In October 2013 he travelled to the Western Isles to unveil a memorial to a dedicated family of doctors.[16] In November 2013 his chairmanship was extended for another year. He delivered a petition to the office of First Minister, signed by 21,000 Scots calling for further resources to be put towards general practice.[17] He was succeeded by Miles Mack in November 2014.[18]

Awards and honours

Gillies was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to general practice.[19][20][21] In 2018 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.[22]

Personal life

He is married to Mary, who is now retired from working as a GP, and they have two children together.[2]

References
  1. Mackintosh, Katie (28 January 2011). "Interview: Dr John Gillies". Holyrood magazine. Archived from the original on 24 May 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  2. "Doctor John steps down". Selkirk Weekend Advertiser. 1 April 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  3. "People: Dr John Gillies. Honorary Senior Lecturer". University of Edinburgh. 1 August 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  4. Gillies, John; Mercer, Stewart W.; Lyon, Andrew; Scott, Mairi; Watt, Graham C. M. (1 May 2009). "Distilling the Essence of General Practice". British Journal of General Practice. 59: e167-e176. doi:10.3399/bjgp09X420626. PMC 2673184. PMID 19401010. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  5. "News: Scots healthcare expertise for Malawi". Scottish Government (Press release). 24 May 2006. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013.
  6. "Members: Dr John Gillies". Scotland Malawi Partnership. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  7. "Global Health Academy members: Dr John Gillies". University of Edinburgh. 20 January 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  8. "About us: Advisory boards: Wesleyan Members Advisory Board". www.wesleyan.co.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  9. "Main Report of the National Review of Primary Care Out of Hours Services. Annex A". www.gov.scot. Scottish Government. 30 November 2015. p. 25. ISBN 9781785448782. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  10. "Undergraduate medical education". www.gov.scot. Scottish Government. 27 October 2019. ISBN 9781839601286. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  11. "Burns poems to help doctors deal with stress and patients". The Scotsman. 1 March 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  12. Morrison, Lesley; Gillies, John (2015). "Tools of the Trade". British Journal of General Practice. 65 (636): 341. doi:10.3399/bjgp15X685609. PMC 4484921.
  13. "RCGP Leadership team". Royal College of General Practitioners. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014.
  14. "John Gillies: 'Health inequalities have to be addressed'". The Scotsman. Johnston Press. 8 June 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  15. "News: BMA urges GPs to support improvement drive". British Medical Association. 21 July 2014. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  16. Ross, David (1 October 2013). "Island will pay tribute to family for 70 years of service as GPs". The Herald. Newsquest. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  17. Mackintosh, Katie (11 November 2014). "The numbers game". Holyrood. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  18. "Lessons learned". Holyrood magazine. 23 October 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  19. "No. 61450". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2015. p. N12.
  20. "Football great Denis Law gets a CBE in New Year Honours list". BBC News. 30 January 2015.
  21. Johnson, Phil (31 December 2015). "NEW YEAR HONOURS: Selkirk doctor gets OBE for services to general practice". Southern Reporter. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  22. "Professor John Calum MacDonald Gillies OBE FRSE". The Royal Society of Edinburgh. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
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