Professor Phil Seager

Abstract

Presents an obituary of Professor Phil Seager (1926-2011). Phil Seager was an eclectic independent thinker under whose directorship the Health Advisory Service (HAS) brought about nationwide improvements in psychiatric services. His recommendations on behalf of the HAS were not only perceptive and incisive, but sensible and feasible. He was an inspiring leader, an accomplished academic and a talented clinician. He published widely on many different subjects including a landmark paper on suicide in Bristol, carried out jointly with Anthony Flood. His other research interests included the effectiveness of electroconvulsive therapy, clinical aspects of postpartum mental illness, the menopause and abortion, comparisons of hospital and community treatment, and electrical aversion therapy in compulsive gamblers. He also published papers on the use of audiovisual aids and telephone conferences and a textbook on psychiatric nursing. He was a prominent figure in the National Health Service (NHS) and took much interest in the production of videotapes as educational aids for medical students and psychiatric trainees, and introduced psychiatric attachments in medical pre-registration posts. His thorough grounding in the realities of face to face care of the mentally ill, meant that he was very much aware of the many problems and dilemmas that clinicians face day to day. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).