GP leaves 'second home'

Dr Manmohan Singh is closing his sole GP practice in Stratford, citing increased work load as a reason.

Tomorrow, Dr Manmohan Singh will see his last patient at his Regan Street Medical Centre in Stratford, marking the end of more than 20 years working as a GP in the town.

"It is going to be very hard. This place has been my second home, I have spent most of my days here."

Dr Singh says Stratford hasn't just been the place he works over the years.

"It has been the place I do all my jobs, I get my petrol here, get my car serviced, I go for walks in the town, I use the local shops and facilities, so leaving it is going to take a huge emotional adjustment.

The team at his clinic, he says "are my second family, they are good friends, people I enjoy spending time with" and his patients are also all considered friends.

"Now they know I am leaving, people are calling in and telling me they will miss me. I wish I had started a book, to record all the nice things they have said to me these last few weeks. It makes me think perhaps I shouldn't leave!"

While Dr Singh has many fond memories of the friendliness of the people in Stratford, he admits to some apprehension when he first considered working in the town.

"I believe I am the only non-white doctor to practise here. Maybe there has been a locum for a week or two, but I am certainly unique amongst the regular GPs here."

Despite this difference, Dr Singh says he has always felt welcome in the town.

"I look very different certainly, I wear a turban," he laughs, "but everyone has been accepting. Children sometimes have stared, they have been unsure, but their parents have explained to them and they have got to know me."

He suspects people originally thought he wouldn't stay in Stratford for long, "but I have been here 20 years now, and I have never regretted setting up my practice here."

Dr Singh says his decision to give up his practice has been a hard one, "but the pressure on GPs is greater than ever before, as a solo practitioner it is almost impossible to continue".

Changes in the way patients are dealt with at hospitals has increased the work load for GPs in recent years, he says.

"Twenty-five years ago, if a patient had a heart problem for example, they would spend a couple of days in ICU, then the main ward, then if they were older, perhaps some time on the geriatric ward too. There they would see a social worker, who would assess what level of care they would need and what help they would have at home.

"This kind of service does not exist anymore and people are home within two or three days, if they are lucky to even stay that long."

Dr Singh isn't leaving the medical profession however. "I have always done some shifts at Medicross in New Plymouth, so I will do more there, but it means I will have more time to relax and take holidays without having to worry about finding a locum doctor."

He is confident his patients will all be well looked after as they move to Avon Medical, but he will undoubtedly miss them.

"The people I have met through the years, the friends I have made. They all make it very hard to say goodbye."