Dr Michael is an experienced Functional Medicine doctor and medical generalist, keen to use the holistic approach to complement conventional medicine because of its focus on root cause treatment and long-term management of conditions. With 30 years of experience as a doctor, he is able to build strong therapeutic relationships with his patients whether discussing physical or psychological factors.
He was motivated to join the medical field by a want to put knowledge into practice to provide a service to others that helped them to live happily and healthily, particularly those suffering from psychological distress and mood disturbances. Since graduating in medicine from Dundee University in 1992, he has gained more than 25 years of experience practising in the NHS including working as a general practitioner since 2002.
Over the years, he’s found the value in embracing an integrated approach to help people find an equilibrium and direction holistically, instead of separating the physical and psychological. His search for a more comprehensive approach that would embrace the principle of integration was triggered by the state of NHS general practice. Its fragmentation and lack of care continuation caused him concern about the quality of care he was able to provide his patients.
His further training started by studying for a Masters in Primary Care at the University of Glasgow in 2006-8 before studying Functional Medicine in 2019. He was drawn to Functional Medicine because of its openness to a holistic view and the way it complements conventional medicine while preserving the links between mind, body and soul. He appreciates its distinct value in how it identifies the root cause of health issues through advanced laboratory testing and exploring a patient’s individual biological makeup. Then the treatment prescribed is down to earth, grounded and straightforward.
He enjoys working as a generalist Functional Medicine doctor because he can look at all systems in the body to help people dealing with a variety of health challenges including autoimmune disease, chronic pain, eczema, diabetes, neurological dysfunction, psychological distress and more. The factors of diet, exercise, sleep, stress and relationships also play a part in his role as an NHS GP one day a week.
Complementing his work with patients, Dr Michael has a long-standing interest in the medical humanities and philosophy of medicine, exploring the academics around the integration of functional and conventional medicine to move away from a disease-based approach. He also recognises that life is about more than being healthy so a focus on the person is essential, especially when navigating chronic health problems. His personal interests include playing the classical guitar, exploring the outdoors through hill climbing and digging into classic literature.
Dr Cameron is trained in genetic testing and interpretation relevant to personalisation of nutritional interventions (See: https://www.lifecodegx.com/ ). It is not always necessary to test in clinical practice and there may be other priorities, but he is happy to arrange testing when it will add value to the developing clinical picture.
