Testimonial Category: Be a GP

As a general practitioner in Gloucestershire, I have found the experience to be incredibly rewarding.

I have worked across the Cotswolds and the Forest of Dean, and I have enjoyed the stunning scenery and the variety of patients and cases from rural to urban settings.

The approach to flexible working is a huge advantage, with most practices offering adaptable schedules, making it easier to balance work and life.

There are also great opportunities for professional development, including the SPARK programme for newly qualified GPs and local fellowships focusing on health inequalities, population health and GP partnerships. The work culture is supportive and collaborative, and I have found the diversity of the workforce to be enriching. 

As an international medical graduate, I felt welcomed and found it easy to integrate into the team, which made the transition into the role smooth and enjoyable. Overall, it has, and continues to be, a great environment to grow and thrive as a GP.

I have been a GP for 20 years having, together with my wife Emma, completed my GP training on the Gloucestershire VTS scheme in 2002, before moving to Australia with our young family in 2004.

After 6 years away, and with 3 young children, we returned in 2010 to settle down in Gloucestershire which we are proud to call home. We have never regretted our decision, despite having Australian citizenship.

Given the pressures in the wider NHS, Gloucestershire is a great place to work, mainly because general practice is well organised and supported and we have good relationships with our many partners.

The future is increasingly about collaborative working as a ‘team of teams’ with other services, professionals and care settings, and I think Gloucestershire is leading the way on how we integrate care around patient cohorts, particularly our frail older patients – this does improve how we work and certainly brings back joy to my day. 

Many practices, including mine, have new premises which makes a big difference to how we work as teams, and we are embracing technology which helps how we communicate with each other. There are also other opportunities to diversify work portfolios, with roles that need GP skills outside of the surgery, and I have found this variety of work helps my sustainability and keeps my mindset positive.

As a place to live in the UK, I can’t think of anywhere better. We live in Cheltenham which has all the amenities of a city with the rural Cotswolds right on our doorstep. It has been a great place to bring up our family. Given Gloucestershire’s central location, we are only an hour away from Birmingham, Bristol, Oxford and Cardiff with London being an easy commute for a day trip. 

Having moved back from Australia, I can’t think of anywhere I would rather work and live than Gloucestershire and I would urge you to consider moving here.

Over 20 years ago, I decided to complete my GP training in Gloucestershire, attracted by the rurality balanced with great transport links to visit family and friends and excellent training opportunities at the hospitals in Cheltenham and Gloucester.

It’s a decision I have never regretted and I have felt really supported by my GP colleagues over the years. I worked initially as a locum, then for many years as a salaried GP and a Partner. More recently, I moved into a portfolio career adding GP appraisals, LMC and ICB work to my regular GP role.  I really enjoy this mix and there are a large variety of other roles for GPs in Gloucestershire wanting to explore portfolio working.

Primary care in Gloucestershire has a keen focus on providing high quality care and there is a strong sense of GP community here, with regular education and social events and good networking with hospitals and consultants. There is also a high value placed on training within general practice, which I have enjoyed over the years, with many practices offering placements to ST2 & ST3 GP trainees as well as medical students in years 3 to 5 from Bristol University.

Although times are tough for those working in general practice across the nation, in Gloucestershire we are well supported by the local Primary Care Training Hub, which offers fantastic opportunities for career development and personal wellbeing, as well as the Local Medical Committee and NHS Gloucestershire ICB, which actively encourages GP involvement in clinical programme groups and other leadership positions.

Gloucestershire is also a wonderful place to have brought up my family, with great schools, sports clubs, stunning countryside and access to big rugby matches locally in Gloucester and also day trips to Twickenham or the Millenium stadium which we enjoy. These wider benefits of beautiful Gloucestershire have significantly helped my work life balance over the years.

Gloucestershire has a good heart and a proud tradition, is a welcoming place to be and an easy place to settle.

The county has an interesting history from the Romans to medieval kings and cathedrals, fashionable Regency Spa towns, woollen mills and the land of Cider with Rosie and the rural life of the Cotswolds and the Forest and the life along the Severn river with its quirky tidal Severn Bore.

We have a diverse mixture of people and places, and this is a very beautiful county to live in with lots of advantages and opportunities.

There is a supportive medical environment with many opportunities and innovations for traditional and modern General Practice to run alongside each other for the future.

I worked overseas in New Zealand and Australia for a few years before completing my GP training here and settling in Gloucestershire and it has been a good place to work and raise my family.

I can highly recommend working here and becoming part of the community. Many of my training group worked overseas and returned home bringing experiences of different cultures, countries and ways of working. Gloucester has a shedload of character, perhaps seen best in the love of rugby and the crazy cheese rolling, so do come to Gloucestershire, be part of the “Shed” and flourish in a place that cares.