Peter William Brunt was a Scottish gastroenterologist and Physician to the Queen.
Biography
editBrunt was born on 18 January 1936 in Prestatyn, Wales to Florence and Harry Brunt.[1][2] He was educated at Manchester Grammar School, Cheadle Hulme School, and King George V School in Southport.[1][2] Later, he attended Liverpool University, where he graduated in 1959.[1][2]
Brunt's early career included various medical positions in Liverpool, followed by a research fellowship in Baltimore.[1][3] In 1961, he married to Anne Lewis, a doctor.[2][4]
In 1996, Brunt was ordained as a non-stipendiary minister in the Scottish Episcopal Church, becoming a priest the following year.[1] He was an active preacher in Aberdeen and later in Northumberland after relocating there in 2019 following his wife's death.[1]
Brunt's medical career took a significant turn upon his return to the UK in 1967, where he began working in the then-emerging field of gastroenterology.[1][2] His roles included a lectureship at the University of Edinburgh and a senior registrar position at Western General Hospital. His expertise in liver disease was further developed at the Royal Free Hospital in London.[1]
In 1970, Brunt was appointed as a consultant physician in Aberdeen, where he established a gastroenterology unit specializing in liver disease and providing care to patients from the Shetland Islands.[1][2] The unit later came to be known as the Peter Brunt Centre at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.[1]
Notably, Brunt was an early adopter of video endoscopy in clinical practice.[1] His other contributions included the development of a research database for inflammatory bowel disease and the establishment of a gastrointestinal bleeding unit.[1]
In 1983, Brunt was appointed Physician to the Queen in Scotland, and in 1994, he was awarded an OBE for his services to medicine.[1][3] The University of Aberdeen recognized his contributions with a personal chair in medicine in 1996.[1][3] Upon retiring in 2001, he was made a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order.[1][3]
Brunt also worked with Alcohol Focus Scotland, Alcohol and Drugs Action, and the Medical Council on Alcohol.[1] He was a member of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE), a former president of the Association of Physicians of Great Britain and Ireland, and served on various medical advisory bodies.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Scotsman Obituaries: Peter Brunt, gastroenterologist and physician to Queen Elizabeth II in Scotland".
- ^ a b c d e f "The Rev Professor Peter Brunt obituary". November 13, 2023 – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
- ^ a b c d Obituaries, Telegraph (August 22, 2023). "The Rev Professor Peter Brunt, expert in liver disease who campaigned passionately against alcohol abuse – obituary". The Telegraph – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
- ^ Illman, John (August 30, 2023). "Peter Brunt: gastroenterologist, physician to the Queen in Scotland, and ordained priest". BMJ. 382: 1994. doi:10.1136/bmj.p1994. S2CID 261341720 – via www.bmj.com.