Tom Butler obituary

"My friend Tom Butler, who has died of lymphoma after a short illness aged 73, was a former head of NHS mental health services in inner-city Manchester. Alongside his career in social work and mental health, Tom was a historian of social policy in the UK and author of several books, including Mental Health, Social Policy and the Law, published in 1985."

"Tom attended St Peter's Roman Catholic junior school in Gloucester, where we first met. Opposite the school was Horton Road psychiatric hospital, an old Victorian lunatic asylum. During break times we would watch patients walking in the grounds, and in our ignorance, conjure up lurid schoolboy tales about what they might be suffering from, yet even at a young age Tom seemed more interested in the fact that they were suffering."

"From there, he flew academically: a degree in social sciences at Middlesex Polytechnic, followed by an MA at Durham University and later a PhD from Manchester University. After a decade in social work convinced him that clients with mental health issues were being failed, he took on a series of roles in the NHS, and by the 1990s was managing the provision of mental health services in Manchester."

Tom Butler died of lymphoma at age 73 after a short illness. He served as head of NHS mental health services in inner-city Manchester and later worked in Northumberland. He combined a career in social work and mental health with scholarship in the history of UK social policy and authored several books, including Mental Health, Social Policy and the Law (1985). As a young social worker he pioneered use of computer databases to improve child protection in Berkshire. He grew up in Gloucester, attended St Peter's, and progressed from technical college to degrees at Middlesex, an MA at Durham and a PhD at Manchester. He gave clinicians more control and forged partnerships with social services and community groups.

Read at www.theguardian.com