Professor Thomas Stuart Murray

Born: July 22, 1943

Died: May 17, 2024

WHILE Professor Thomas Stuart Murray was still in his teens, he received an invaluable lesson in doing what he thought was right, regardless of what others thought, and making something of himself.

He had been a hard worker throughout his school days in Muirkirk, Ayrshire, with a range of part-time and holiday jobs that included butcher’s boy, newspaper delivery boy, Christmas postman and a summer employee at the local Butlin’s. He was the only boy at the age of 15 still at Muirkirk Secondary, the others all having left early, as was often the way at that time.

Motivated perhaps by ire and jealousy, some local boys threw stones at his window, but Professor Murray persevered, going on not only to Cumnock Academy but also to Glasgow University, where he studied medicine.

In 1970 he began working as a GP in a group practice in the Vale of Leven. He thrived in his five years there but he was gradually drawn to the idea of combining the job with another professional interest. As he later recalled, GP training was being formalised at that time and in 1975 he was inspired to return to his old university in a post that blended research with clinical practice. The University practice was based in Woodside Health Centre, where eight practices jointly looked after no fewer than 45,000 patients.

This was the beginning of a distinguished career in which he would play a prominent role in the education of general practitioners and in the post of GP being recognised as a speciality, with all would-be GPs being required to complete a three-year training programme.

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He became a Senior Lecturer in the Department of General Practice at Glasgow University in 1977, and Professor in 1992. From 1982 he developed an interest in postgraduate education and in 1985 he became the director of postgraduate general practice education in the west of Scotland.

Over the course of his career he peer-reviewed articles in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) for more than a decade and in the British Journal of General Practice for more than 20 years, and he himself had over 100 publications in the Medical Education journal.

He retired in 2011 and three years later he was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the inaugural NES (NHS Education for Scotland) Medical Directorate awards, in Edinburgh. The citation pointed out that his body of work had made a significant contribution to teaching and learning in both undergraduate and postgraduate medical education.

Thomas Stuart Murray was the youngest of three sons born to Tom Murray, a Co-op grocery branch manager, and his wife, Annie. “My parents”, he later wrote, “were married for 65 years and were a contented couple, happy with their lot as they lived within their modest means … You never received any praise at home but it was a no-nonsense environment with strong boundaries and deep love”.

He started on Glasgow University’s medical course on October 5, 1961, and several lifelong friendships emerged from his time there. He forever remembered attending the debating society in 1961 alongside such prominent members as Donald Dewar, Menzies Campbell, John Smith and Neil MacCormick, all of whom would go on to make a name for themselves.

On the subject of his early research into the training of GPs, Murray once wrote: “I had been concerned and motivated by the need to set high standards and deliver excellence. My overall aim was to raise, through education and training, standards of patient care. This would only be possible if an external system was developed and standardised”.

A new GP contract was introduced by the then Conservative government in 1990 and, for the first time, there was a Postgraduate Education Allowance. By providing education Glasgow University was able to generate funds which allowed Professor Murray to develop a team that could deliver the vision.

As the citation for his lifetime achievement award noted, he used the changes in the Postgraduate Education Allowance to quality-assure the provision of education for GPs and to encourage a range of innovative learning methods through an educational partnership that remains a valuable resource today. Not only did he ensure a high standard of training but he also became the driving force behind the employment of general practice speciality trainees, which itself led to major benefits.

His “strategic leadership”, the citation added, “has ensured that Scotland and the West of Scotland GP unit has been in the forefront of  General Practice. His leadership was one of empowerment, with eight of his team obtaining higher degrees and achieving national roles in General Practice”.

Professor Murray never quite lost sight of his humble but honest upbringing. “I was very fortunate to have been brought up in Muirkirk and to have taken the village values to a larger audience”. He enjoyed reading about the village and remained a keen and appreciative reader of the Muirkirk News.

Ignoring the tradition whereby he would simply be expected to marry a Muirkirk girl, he was married to Anne, who worked as a staff nurse at Glasgow Royal Infirmary. Their three children, Neil, Carol and Lesley, remember him as someone who knew how special family was: “He would be strict but fair and caring, and always wanted you to better yourself”.

He was a fan of Patrick Thistle and Rangers, and bought season tickets at Ibrox for his son and grandsons. He loved going on cruises with Anne, and travelled widely, too, going to such places as Ethiopia and Mexico, the latter for the 1986? World Cup in which Scotland took part.

Professor Thomas Stuart Murray is survived by Anne, by Carol, Lesley and Neil, and by grandchildren Scott, Adam, Eilidh, Fraser, Greg, Ross, Callum, Euan and Anna.