Obituary: Peter Ormerod

Abstract

Peter Ormerod has died at the age of 68. A past president of the British Thoracic Society (BTS), his research helped define drug treatment, public health measures and a national strategy to reduce tuberculosis (TB) in the UK. These guidelines adopted nationally were also regarded internationally as the definitive standards. Given that he was working as a general physician in a busy district general hospital (Blackburn Royal Infirmary, later the Royal Blackburn Hospital), his achievements were quite remarkable.\n\nLawrence Peter Ormerod was born in Rossendale, Lancashire on 28 August 1950, the oldest of three sons of Milton and Dorothy Ormerod. He attended Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School where his father taught chemistry.\n\nHe attended the University of Manchester Medical School and graduated with an intercalated BSc in Pharmacology and MB ChB with honours in 1974. After training posts in Manchester, he passed the MRCP examination in April 1977 and then worked at East Birmingham Hospital for a year. He returned to Manchester as a senior …