Patrick Stewart Boulter

Patrick Stewart Boulter FRCS, FRCSEd (28 May 1927 – 30 November 2009) was a general surgeon in Guildford, England. He developed a sub-speciality interest in breast surgery and was one of the pioneers in the UK of screening for breast cancer. He served as president of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh from 1991 to 1994.

Early life He was born in 1927 in Annan, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, His father Frederick Charles Boulter was a civil engineer, and his mother was Flora Victoria (née Black). He was educated initially at King’s College School, Wimbledon. When his parents moved to Carlisle he attended Carlisle Grammar School, which had close links to Carlisle Cathedral and subsequently became Trinity School. While at school he developed a love of the outdoors and walking, hill climbing and mountaineering were to become pastimes which he continued to enjoy for the rest of his life. His decision to study medicine was influenced by a visit to the operating theatre in the local hospital. In 1983 they reported the results on over 24,000 women who took part. The Guildford centre was one of seven that took part in the first major multicentre UK trial of screening for breast cancer. The results of this trial were an important part of the evidence presented in the Forrest Report (1986) which led to the setting up of the UK national breast cancer screening programme 1988, the first such national breast screening programme in the world.

Boulter took a particular interest in training young surgeons not only from Britain but from around the world. He was a prime mover in the establishment of the Guildford Postgraduate Centre which opened in 1964.

Honours and awards He was made honorary professor in surgical science at the University of Surrey at Guildford. The university awarded him the honorary degree of doctor of the university (D Univ) in 1996. He was awarded honorary fellowships by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, and the South African and Hong Kong College of Surgeons.

Family He married Patricia Mary Eckersley (née Barlow) in 1946. They had two daughters, Jennifer and Anne. He retired to the Lake District, close to Penrith, where he died on 30 November 2009.