My father, John Winkler, who has died aged 92, was among the first National Health Service general practitioners in Britain, and remained a dedicated family doctor until well into his 80s.
The NHS was launched in 1948, and two years later he set up his own practice in Pimlico, London, which he ran single-handedly for more than 40 years. Until quite late in his career John was on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and he even gave patients his home telephone number. In addition, he ran a child welfare clinic, was a school doctor and was interested in psychiatry. Throughout his working life he took a deep interest in his patients, always asking questions and giving advice about their welfare, education and work. John didn’t just look into his patients’ medicine cupboards – he looked inside their fridges, and persevered with their health problems until he found both a cause and a solution.
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