1969–1980

Southampton was one of the three new medical schools founded in the wake of the Todd report – the first new school in the UK since before the First World War (as we were constantly reminded). It prided itself on being different and set out to at least double the then very low proportion of clinical teaching in the community (achieving 7 per cent in the first decade). The foundation Dean, the epidemiologist Donald Acheson (later Sir Donald Acheson, CMO at the DHSS), had made his name in Oxford with his record linkage project. He brought with him an able general practitioner from nearby Bicester, John Forbes, who had helped him, particularly with aspects of care of the elderly. Forbes was appointed as senior lecturer in Acheson's department of community medicine in 1968, with the brief of developing general practice education and research and including a model practice. At first medical school money was ‘ring fenced’ from the other Southampton faculties and further appointments rapidly followed: David Skelton as lecturer in 1969, Chris Metcalfe as senior lecturer in 1970, myself in 1972 and Pat Hertnon from New Zealand in 1973 as lecturers to complete the initial staffing of the university practice.