A well-respected and pioneering GP has died.

Dr John Stuart Brown was attached to the Thornhills Medical Practice at Martin Square in Larkfield from 1961 until his retirement in 2000, by which time he was the managing partner at the practice.

During the 1980s, he pioneered the concept of GPs performing minor surgeries in their clinics, thus easing the pressure on NHS hospital waiting lists.

He lobbied Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on the subject, and eventually, in the NHS General Practitioners Contract of 1990, GPs were encouraged to undertake more of their own operations.

In 1984, Dr Brown wrote a book on the subject, Minor Surgery, A Text and Atlas, which ran to five editions and was a global bestseller in the medical sector for more than 30 years.

The books, which were based on a previous series of articles that he had published in The Pulse medical journal, were admired in the medical profession for their clarity and practical approach.

Dr Brown himself is said to have carried out more than 20,000 minor surgeries during his long career - an achievement that in 1997 earned him an MBE for his services to medicine.

Born in February 1935 in Bradford, Dr Brown trained at King’s College Hospital in London, graduating with honours in 1959.

After completing house surgical posts in general surgery, orthopaedics, urology, obstetrics, gynaecology and paediatrics, he worked as a house surgeon and house physician in Brighton at the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital, where he met his wife-to-be Anne, who was a nurse.

They moved to Woodlands Road in Aylesford when he joined the Larkfield group practice in 1961.

Dr Brown also became a divisional surgeon at the St John Ambulance Brigade and was admitted as an Officer Brother of the Order in 1994.

His wife became well known for running the Aylesford lunch club.

In 1985, Dr Brown and his family moved to East Malling.

After his retirement, Dr Brown and Anne spent six months in Zambia providing medical care there.

In 2012, they moved to Ponteland, near Newcastle-upon-Tyne, to be near to their two sons.

Their eldest son, Nick, said: “He was a kind and genial dad. Always very proud of his children and grandchildren. He was always keen to spend as much time as possible with us all.

“He loved gardening, electronics and walking in the countryside with our mum.”

Dr Brown died on Sunday (October 26). He was 90.

He is survived by his wife, Anne, and their three children, Nick, Geoff and Hilary, and six grandchildren.