Knowing retirement was inevitable and imminent resulted in mixed emotions. On the one hand Sue and I knew we were going to miss our patients (many of whom we’d known for decades) a lot. On the other hand, though, I thought former consultant Theodore Dalrymple’s comment in The Spectator was spot on: “Retired at last!
Retired at last! Thank God Almighty, retired at last! Such are the feelings of almost all hospital consultants and general practitioners who retire from the National Health Service after many years of service: years that increasingly have been ones of drudgery, servitude and subordination to politicians and their henchmen, the managers, who utter Pecksniffian pieties as they secure the advancement of their own inglorious careers.”
At the beginning of March 2019 I wrote informing our patients of what was to come:
“WINDING DOWN. Sue and I came to Woodham around 40 years ago. At that time healthcare was being provided from two converted houses, one in Kingsway and one in Champions Way (in honour of the many Kings and Champions who have resided here.) As you probably know, Essex County Council had created the town with absolutely no thought for healthcare provision – just a vague concept for a ‘health hub’ in the centre of the town on the plot of land currently occupied by the health clinic and the adjacent practices.”
I went on to give a very brief history of healthcare in the town and followed it up with the usual rant: “The way healthcare has been mishandled in SWF throughout the time I have been practicing here beggars belief. The amount of taxpayers’ money that has been wasted is criminal. If the town had simply been given a fair budget (to include the cost of all the expensive ‘managers’ who, by and large, couldn’t run a sweet shop) and this had been spent wisely by agreement between the clinicians and the residents, we would have achieved MUCH more than we have to date. I still think that the town should move towards a state of ‘semi-autonomy’ so that we are no longer subjected to decisions made behind closed doors – without any discussion with the people who provide the healthcare and those on the receiving end – the patients.
Repeatedly pointing this out has not endeared me to ‘the powers that be’ – and the two cases I took to the High Court didn’t help either! This makes you a target – and I’m not alone in experiencing this. There have been serious attempts to close us down over the years – and the one in 2004 very nearly succeeded – but we have always had amazing support from our patients (and the wonderful team we’ve managed to build up) which has enabled us to survive no matter what was thrown at us.
Where they failed, however, anno domini has succeeded. Age and decrepitude combined with repeated calls for me to spend more time with my family have finally forced my hand. The trouble with ‘good old-fashioned’ general practice is that you either have to do it flat out and to the best of your ability, or not at all. Sue has succeeded in seeing our grandchildren regularly but juggling this with work requirements has become increasingly difficult. We plan to leave at much the same time – my first day of retirement will, appropriately, be April Fools’ Day. Given that we’ve known many of our patients for most or all of the time we’ve been here, it will, of course, be a huge wrench when we finally hang up our stethoscopes.
We have been touched by the many messages we have received from patients since the news broke – and apologise for the fact that it will take some time to reply to them all. I was particularly touched by something I spotted on Facebook – “A legend departs!” It turned out to be a tribute to poor old Keith Flint … but, for the few seconds it took for the penny to drop, I was on top of the world!
The practice will be run from April onwards by Dr Maya Mistry (who still has a trace of her Coventry accent – see her details on the website) and Dr Smitesh Patel (who, like Maya, has been a GP here in Essex for some time.) They are both very experienced and multitalented so they, backed by the existing team, should be able to provide a full range of services
As for us, we’ll be staying in the area for a time (it would take a month of Sundays just to clear our loft) and will continue to take an interest in what happens in Woodham so you won’t see the back of us just yet – (I’ll continue to write for Focus for now) – and we’ll try and find a way of seeing those of our patients who want to see us (probably at a ‘do’ sometime in April.)
Until then – thank you for having us!”
So the die was cast. We still had to get on with running the practice and making arrangements for the handover, however, and the progress on the new health facility continued at pace … but more of that in next week’s exciting episode!
Dr John Cormack