Susan Stuart

Susan Stuart (née Walker) was a GP of the old school, with a firm belief in seeing patients from the cradle to the grave. She made a point of personally providing end of life care, believing this was one duty that she owed her patients.

Susan spent most of her career at the Heaton Road Surgery in Newcastle and she was well known in the area for her fast cars—preferably convertibles. She would drive with the roof down in all weathers, accompanied by her large Pyrenean mountain dog who acted as guard when the car was parked in less salubrious areas.

She trained as an anaesthetist but switched to general practice when she was diagnosed with essential hypertension. She continued to work as an anaesthetist at St Mary’s Hospital, Northumberland, a mental health facility, where she anaesthetised patients undergoing electroconvulsive therapy. When ECT went out of fashion she became a clinical assistant …