Richard Morgan Phillips

Dr Richard Morgan Phillips, who died on August 25 2001 after a long respiratory illness, was born in 1920. He qualified MRCS LRCP from St Thomas' Hospital Medical School in 1938. He served in the Royal Navy as Surgeon Lieutenant from 1944 to 1949. After demobilisation he worked for a year at Shenley Hospital in Hertfordshire and then returned to St Thomas' Hospital to work in the psychiatric department under Dr Will Sargant, where he achieved notoriety by driving his Austin A7 down the main corridor of the hospital. He obtained the DPM in 1951 and graduated MBChB in 1953.

In 1955 he was appointed Consultant Psychiatrist to the City General Hospital, Stoke-on-Trent, where he spent the next 28 years of his life progressively converting what had been little more than a collection of poor-law lunacy wards into a modern psychiatric unit. He played an important part in integrating what had previously been, in North Staffordshire, a divided service. Initially he was responsible, with the aid of one registrar, for 90 beds, until 1966 when one other part-time consultant was appointed. A Foundation Member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in 1971, he was elected FRCPsych in 1972.

His opinion was increasingly sought by consultants in other specialities and he was an early practitioner of what was subsequently to become known as liaison psychiatry. He was the first Chairman of the Psychiatric Specialists Sub-committee of the North Staffordshire Medical Advisory Committee and served as, and very much enjoyed being, a medical member of the Lord Chancellor's mental health review tribunal for many years both before and after retirement in 1983. Tall and distinguished in appearance, he had a voice that was immediately reassuring to his patients and he successfully combined the art of psychotherapy with the science of pharmacotherapy — a skill that he had learned under Sargant's tutelage.

In 1955 Richard married Rosalind Barnes, herself a graduate of Charing Cross Hospital Medical School, and they had two daughters and a son. Their elder daughter, Sarah, is a qualified nurse and their younger daughter, Catherine, is a doctor in an accident and emergency service. Their son, Mark, opted for a career in commerce. Richard was a superb host and, at their home in Barlaston, he and Rosalind frequently entertained their many friends to memorable dinner parties. He was, until his health dictated otherwise, an enthusiastic golfer and he was a long-standing member of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).

He is survived by his wife, three children and six grandchildren.