Pioneering GP Dr Julian Tudor Hart passed away at the weekend aged 91.
The GP, who was born in South Wales, where he later practiced, first introduced the concept of the ‘inverse care law’; the principle that the availability of good medical or social care tends to vary inversely with the need of the population served.
Dr Tudor Hart worked at the Archie Cochrane led MRC Epidemiology Unit – where he met his wife and research partner Mary – and this background in epidemiology taught him to study how his patients’ lifestyles caused their ill health and worked with them to improve this.
In 1961 he moved to the coal mining community of Glyncorrwg, South Wales and set up in practice, where he stayed for 30 years.
Pulse featured him last week as one of the GPs who shaped the NHS in the run-up to the NHS 70th birthday this week.
A number of prominent GPs have paid tribute to Dr Tudor Hart over the weekend, including Professor Graham Watt, whose ‘Deep End’ project in Glasgow was heavily influenced by Dr Tudor Hart, and the leader of the opposition, Jeremy Corbyn:
Julian Tudor Hart has gone from the world but he will never be gone from the work, lives and dreams of general practitioners.
— graham watt (@grahamwatt4) July 1, 2018
My thoughts are with the family and friends of Dr Julian Tudor Hart who sadly died today.
Julian was a pioneer of quality primary care and President of the Socialist Health Association. We will continue to be inspired by his work to campaign against inequalities in healthcare.
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) July 1, 2018
“Primary health care is doing simple things well, for large numbers of people, few of whom feel ill.” – Julian Tudor Hart, who died today.
His Inverse Care Law: People most in need of healthcare are least likely to receive it.
(Now more than ever)RIP
— Trisha Greenhalgh #FBPE (@trishgreenhalgh) July 1, 2018
