Professor of Primary Care and Clinical Trials Unit Director Professor Chris Butler has been named Wales GP of hte Year by the Royal College of General Practitioners Wales (RCGPW).
The award commends GPs for the difference they make to their patients’ lives, and is awarded on the basis of nominations by members of the public who feel that their GP has provided them with an outstanding level of care above and beyond the call of duty. 86 nominations for the award were received and ten were shortlisted, and was presented at the RCGPW annual Gala Awards Dinner on 18 November.
Commenting on the award, Professor Butler said: "I was very surprised and profoundly humbled to be awarded the Royal College of General Practitioners Wales GP of the Year Award 2019, especially because the award is patient nominated and patient judged.
‘"The words of the person who had nominated me were read out at the ceremony; she spoke most movingly about the mental illness she had suffered and of the 12 years that I had played a small part in her care: hearing those words was my real reward; being able to stand with a person, even in a small way, during such deeply troubled times is an incredible privilege.
"Singling me out as the GP of the year does not make much sense because there are so many GPs whose patients could have spoken about them in similar ways, so I accepted the award, not on behalf of myself, but on behalf of my amazing GP colleagues and entire practice team at the Cynon Vale Medical Practice. The award also really belongs to all those GPs who, despite many adverse circumstances, continue to provide amazing and unsung high quality care to all, and especially to the most vulnerable in society."
Professor Butler is based in Cynon Vale Medical Practice in Mountain Ash. His research focuses on combatting antibiotic resistance and reduce antibiotic prescribing in primary care. He is also Director of the National Institute for Health Research Community Healthcare MedTech and In Vitro Diagnostics Co-operative, which facilitates the development and evaluation of diagnostic tests in community healthcare.