DR Richard Taylor says it has been an “enormous privilege” to serve as Wyre Forest’s MP for nine years.

The former consultant physician, elected in 2001 with a landslide majority of 18,000 after a campaign against the downgrading of Kidderminster Hospital, has been replaced by Conservative, Mark Garnier.

Although his Independent Community and Health Concern party still has members on Wyre Forest District and Worcestershire county councils, last week’s General Election result signalled the end of Dr Taylor’s two terms as MP.

He said: “I couldn’t have gone on indefinitely, so to go out on a high and before I have faded away is much better than if I stayed on when the public didn’t want me.”

If he had won, the 75-year-old would have been the first independent to serve three consecutive terms since 1935.

Dr Taylor polled 16,150 votes, 2,643 fewer than Mark Garnier but nearly 9,000 more than third-placed Nigel Knowles, of Labour.

“I’m looking forward to having a bit of free time to myself and I don’t want to make any decisions about my future just yet,” Dr Taylor explained.

Although he admitted he would consider an offer of a seat in the House of Lords, he said an advisory role in the NHS would appeal most to him.

“If there is any way I can help the NHS, I will, because it is a hugely important thing to all of us,” he added.

His immediate plans for retirement include birdwatching and gardening, along with spending time with his wife, Chris and their family.

One of Dr Taylor’s personal career highlights was getting a health committee inquiry started into the prevention of venous thrombo-embolism among hospital patients.

“There were 25,000 deaths a year from this, which were preventable,” he explained. “The report means patients now get treatments and assessments they weren’t getting before.”

He also successfully lobbied for a single three-digit telephone number – aside from 999 – for intermediate or less serious medical emergencies.

That campaign followed the death of a Kidderminster boy who was seen five times over the space of two days by different health professionals.

Locally, he said, there were “a lot of individuals” he had helped, adding he was “very grateful” to all the people who had voted for him.

He went on: “The fact I am most proud of is that I can still walk around the three towns of Wyre Forest and be greeted as a friend by almost everybody.”