Friends and colleagues have paid tribute to a “larger than life” Fife GP who died while working at his surgery.
Alasdair Sneddon, 58, was a GP at Muiredge Surgery in Buckhaven for more than 22 years.
It is understood he collapsed in the surgery on the afternoon of Wednesday April 23. Despite the efforts of his colleagues and other medical staff, he could not be saved.
Dr Sneddon was an award-winning member of Largo Bay Sailing Club, a keen photographer and had a great love of the countryside.
Originally from Ruislip in London, he came to St Andrews University in 1974 to study medical sciences, graduating in 1977.
He then took a year out and spent a holiday in Alberta, Canada, where he met his future wife, Joan Morrison, from Quebec.
Dr Sneddon studied clinical medicine at Manchester University for three years and graduated in 1981, the year in which he married Joan and returned to Scotland to work.
His career took him to Stornoway, Inverness, Carluke, Bridge of Earn and Aberdeenshire, before he came to Buckhaven in March 1992.
Colleagues at Muiredge Surgery said Dr Sneddon was “a larger than life character with a satirical sense of humour, huge wit and was good fun to be with”.
They added: “He was incredibly intelligent and worked tirelessly to improve healthcare within the locality and to diminish bureaucracy within general practice.”
Dr Sneddon also served on NHS Fife’s local medical committee for 21 years, with the last five as chairman.
Dr Sneddon, of Lower Largo, is survived by wife Joan and sons Duncan, Ewan and Murray. Another son, Malcolm, died in infancy in 1987.