This was published 7 years ago
Dr Eric Fisher: pioneering GP who adopted new treatment techniques
Eric Fisher was a leader in the field of medical general practice in Australia who continued to see patients until he was 90. Central to his approach was a belief that emotional well-being has a significant impact on a person's health and recovery. Rather than just treat the symptoms, Eric and his wife and medical partner Anne, encouraged their patients to talk during their consultations and saw it as a central part of their treatment.
Dr Fisher was seen as a role model by his colleagues and held key leadership positions throughout his 67 years of medicine. He was president of the Marriage Guidance Council in 1985; president of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners from 1986 to 1988. In 2006, he was bestowed Life Fellowship by the College and in 2010 he was awarded their most prestigious honour, the Rose-Hunt Medal. Like Sir Winston Churchill, he was a 33rd degree mason which is the highest degree conferred on members of the Masonic Lodge. In 1991, he was appointed a Member of the General Division of the Order of Australia for services to medicine as a general practitioner and for services to the community.
Dr Eric Fisher: Incorporated talking therapy into his medical practice.
Eric Fisher was born Alan Eric Fisher in West Wyalong on July 21, 1925. He was the eldest child of Ernest and Louisa Fisher. His father was the local GP, and his mother a nurse. His younger siblings, Adrienne and Coll, have predeceased him.
Fisher said that his interest in medicine emerged at the age of five when his father removed his tonsils and adenoids on the kitchen table under a chloroform anaesthetic. As a youngster, he accompanied his father while he attended patients. By the time he was eight years old, he had seen numerous people who had died by accident, violence or natural causes.
He attended West Wyalong Public School and at the age of 12, moved to Sydney to live with relatives while he completed his education at Canterbury Boys' High. In 1948, he qualified as a medical practitioner from Sydney University. After three years practising in Sydney, he travelled to Europe and the UK to gain further clinical experience.
While in England he held surgical positions at various leading hospitals including Royal West Sussex Hospital where in 1954 he met a young Welsh doctor, Anne Crabtree. They married at Radyr in Wales the next year.
Twelve months later they moved to West Wyalong in central western New South Wales, where they joined Fisher's father's medical practice. When his father died the next year, they continued the practice.
They were GPs in the town for 17 years and were actively involved in community life. In 1967, however, the way they treated their patients changed forever. After attending a conference in Wagga Wagga, the medical couple began to incorporate talking therapy into their practice. Despite scientific advances and new technologies, Fisher had come to realise these advances rarely answered the critical questions of why a person had become ill at a certain time and whether a deeper understanding of the evolution of their illness would help their healing process. This became central to his medical philosophy and approach to practice.
In line with the maxim of The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners: "the good GP never stops learning", Fisher continued to build on his extensive clinical and surgical training in the UK and Germany, undertaking courses spanning education, counselling, family therapy and sexual therapy.
In 1974, the couple left West Wyalong and moved to Sydney to be closer to their children who were attending boarding school. They set up a practice in North Sydney, working together until Anne retired in 1998. Fisher continued seeing patients in North Sydney, and later in Northbridge, until he retired in 2015 at the age of 90.
He had a remarkable memory. During his last visit to West Wyalong in August 2016, after some 42 years, his former patients lined up to shake his hand. He recognised each and every one of them, their medical history and family members. They told his daughter Jenny, who had accompanied him, "your dad is a legend".
His mind remained sharp until the end, but he had become frail and worn down by chronic leukaemia. He was not afraid of dying. He talked about it openly and in a realistic and pragmatic manner. Despite this, his death came suddenly after an accident at home. Eric fell and hit his head, which at first seemed benign. However, the next day he peacefully slipped into unconsciousness and gently faded away surrounded by his wife, children and grandchildren.
Eric Fisher is survived by his wife Anne, their children Jenny, Tony, Kathy and Peter, and their partners and seven grandchildren.