A DEDICATED surgeon who has devoted his career to setting the highest standards of health care for his Moray patients has bowed out of the operating theatre.

After 25 years as senior consultant surgeon at Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin, Jack Miller has hung up his gown.

More than 100 colleagues from across NHS Grampian and beyond are set to gather tonight (Friday) for a farewell dinner, to pay tribute to the huge contribution he has made to health care in general, and surgery in particular, in Moray.

Mr Miller said: “In one way it will be nice to have some time to myself and my family, but it is also difficult to give up the care of my patients.

“Whatever successes I have had at Dr Gray’s have largely been because of the people I have worked with, not just my consultant colleagues but nursing staff, porters, cleaners – everyone. The quality of the people has been immense.

“What has made my job so enjoyable has been the kind of patient we deal with in this area. They are the salt of the earth – uncomplaining, and very kind and appreciative.”

A graduate of Aberdeen University, Mr Miller trained in surgery in Dundee and Aberdeen, also spending two years in Boston, USA, where he developed his interest in bariatric surgery, involving procedures for treating severely obese patients.

He first came to Elgin as a senior lecturer in surgery at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and Aberdeen University, and joined the staff at Dr Gray’s in late 1984, replacing John Smith on his retirement.

From the start, he set out to demonstrate that a wide range of surgical procedures could be carried out at Elgin, including highly specialised operations such as gastric banding for morbid obesity, which although common nowadays, was pioneered as a procedure in Scotland by Mr Miller more than 20 years ago.

In the early 1990s, when the Government was looking to expand services at Dr Gray’s, one of the catalysts was the work being performed by Mr Miller, which demonstrated how specialised and complex surgery could be carried out there. Mr Miller went on to make a huge contribution to the planning of the redeveloped hospital, and was instrumental in persuading the then Scottish Health Department in Edinburgh that in addition to obstetrics, gynaecology and paediatrics, Dr Gray’s should have an orthopaedic and trauma surgery unit.

Mr Miller became the president of the Moray Scanner Appeal, which raised £1 million in less than three years in order to equip the new hospital with a state-of-the-art CT scanner, and he said it was something of which he was very proud.

“We were told that although a scanner was vitally important, there wasn’t the money to pay for it. We turned to the public for help, and they were amazing,” added Mr Miller, who for many years served as chairman of Moray Carers.

Paying tribute to him, colleagues said that his enthusiasm for his patients, work and teaching has always shone through. Throughout his time as a consultant surgeon, he has been innovative and greatly admired by nursing and medical staff alike, and has helped train more than 60 trainee surgeons during their time at Dr Gray’s, some of whom were returning to attend his retirement dinner.

They said: “Around the hospital, Jack is best known for his dedication and professionalism, but above all for his cheery demeanour, and he always has a hug for everyone. He will be hugely missed, but everyone wishes him a long and happy retirement.”

Mr Miller lives near Elgin with his wife, Isobel. They have three children: John, an anaesthetist; Leah, who works in the distilling industry, and David, who is training to be a physician at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

Source: Northern Scot