Dr Stirling Pugh retires after 30 years at Musgrove Park Hospital

Many colleagues came together to celebrate the career of long-serving consultant gastroenterologist, Dr Stirling Pugh, as he retired last month at the grand age of 69 and a half – not 70 (yet) he adds!

Stirling has actually been a doctor for 45 years, having first qualified in 1979, and in a move that’s unheard of these days, he worked as a locum before even qualifying!

His student doctor career took him to Sheffield, where he completed his undergraduate, then London for his PhD, before he took on his senior and specialist training in Cardiff.

Stirling began his long stint at Musgrove Park Hospital on 1 July 1994 as a consultant gastroenterologist, and then spent the latter years of his career performing endoscopies.

“I’ve been fortunate to work in some really good hospitals over my career,” he says. “Although I was asked to work in teaching hospitals like Cardiff, I wanted to practise in what I’d call a ‘frontline first division’ district general hospital, where we could handle most cases – so that’s what I did!

“I’ve not been disappointed with my choice, as although every hospital has its challenges, MPH seems to deal with them much better than many others. The fact I’ve stayed here 30 years must mean something!

“During my time at the hospital, I’ve taken on a lot of roles, including cancer lead, endoscopy lead, and also clinical director for medicine for a few years.

“Over all the years though, I’m particularly proud of how our Gastroenterology and endoscopy department has grown, and I’m honoured to say that I was one of the first therapeutic endoscopists here, and now we’re a magnificent endoscopy hospital, which I’m pleased about!  We also have strong nutrition, inflammatory bowel disease and liver disease services.”

Stirling has certainly seen his fair share of change in the NHS, including the type of operations offered at MPH.

He continues: “The practice of medicine has changed a lot during my time, as when I first came here, I worked closely with a colleague who has also recently retired – Mr Ian Eyre-brook – and he would do the cancer esophagectomies and pancreatic cancer surgery.

“We’re still able to offer a fantastic diagnostic service and a therapeutic endoscopy service, and the team is looking forward to moving into the brand-new surgical centre next year.

“One of the things I’m proud of is how I was always very determined to appoint the very best candidates for the job, even if I thought they were more talented than me and would pose me with challenges in a positive way!

“But I’m most proud of my fellow colleagues, doctors and nurses, and while there are way too many to name individually, they’ve all been fantastic over the years, and it shows that we’ve got succession planning right.

“I stepped back from my role as a hands-on frontline consultant a few years ago and I’m now looking forward to being clinically fully retired, safe in the knowledge that I’m leaving the department in very good hands, as our gastroenterology consultants really are top class.”

It’s not just his clinical practice that Stirling feels proud of, but also his role in bringing through the next generation of doctors.

“I’m proud of all the teaching I’ve done over the years, particularly my role as associate postgraduate dean at the University of Bristol, which I did for nine years,” he continues.

“I also did some work for both the British Society of Gastroenterology and Department of Health, so I’ve enjoyed a wide spectrum of experience in medical practice, in terms of the things a consultant can do in local and national management.

“In fact, while I was in London doing my PhD, one of my patients actually tried to give me a Nobel prize although he didn’t realise it!

“I was doing research for my PhD on prostaglandins in duodenal ulcers, and quite a few of my patients were getting recurrent ulcers, which tended to happen in those days.

“This patient came along to see me in clinic and told me that he was sorry, but he wouldn’t be able to help me anymore, because he was now cured of those ulcers.

“He told me that took a course of Ranitidine tablets, prescribed by his GP to reduce acid levels in his stomach, and amoxicillin for a chest infection, and that he’s now been fine for months.

“I told him that’s great news and to let me know if he experiences any further problems, but I also wrote in his notes: ‘he’ll be back’…but he never was!

“The next year a medical journal was published about the finding of an infection in the stomach, called helicobacter Pylori, and the people who found it got awarded the Nobel prize…and this man was telling me the year before: ‘hey doc, it’s due to an infection, and if you give these two tablets together you can get rid of it.’

“So, the moral of this story is, listen to your patients when they’re trying to tell you their diagnosis, or in my case trying to give me a Nobel prize.

“As I moved towards retirement, I’ve been gradually cutting back on the things I do – I’m a bit like the Cheshire Cat, in all that’ll be left of me, is my smile!

“I haven’t got any post-retirement plans, even though everyone asks. I’ve worked out that during my career I’ve lived in 14 different houses across five different cities, but we’ve lived in our current house for 29 years.

“However, this means I’ve built up a lot of stuff which I need to sort out, as boring as that might sound…and my wife and I are looking forward to travelling of course too.”

Dr Emma Wesley, one of our consultant gastroenterologists, says: "It has been an absolute pleasure to work with Stirling over the years, he has been a fantastic mentor to me and many others.

“I first met him when I was a registrar doing question writing for the Royal College of Physicians examinations, and his enthusiasm and friendliness was one of the main reasons I later chose to work at Musgrove Park.

“The decisions he and others made over the years have made a lasting positive impact on our team and the service we are able to offer the patients of Somerset, I sometimes wonder how he was able to predict the future so well! His wisdom and friendship will be greatly missed by all of us."

Thank you, Stirling for everything you’ve done for patients and colleagues in Somerset…and have a happy and healthy retirement, you deserve it!