President’s Medal Lecture 2026/2027: The Rise and Fall of General Practice
Med-Chi Hall, Foresterhill
Speaker: Dr Bill Reith
Bill Reith graduated in medicine from Edinburgh University in 1974.
He moved to Aberdeen in 1975 to undertake vocational training for general practice. After qualifying with membership of the Royal College of General Practitioners in 1978, he joined a city centre practice, now known as Westburn Medical Group, where he was a principal and partner until he retired in January 2019.He had a particular interest in postgraduate training for general practice and from 1986-96 he was Regional Adviser in General Practice for North East Scotland.
He was a member of Council of the Royal College of General Practitioners for many years from 1990 and held the positions of Honorary Secretary (1994-99), Chair of Scottish Council (2000-03), Chair of the Postgraduate Training Board (2005-11) and Chair of the Heritage Committee (2011-18). He was awarded FRCGP in 1991 and FRCP Edin in 1994. He is a liveryman of the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries and was granted freedom of the City of London in February 2020, exercising his right to herd sheep across the Thames in Sept 2023.
