Dedicated doctor steps down after 30 years of service
HE has cared for a community in Bristol over the course of five decades – and now tributes are flooding in for Dr Dougal Darvill, who has retired after dedicating his life to the people of Hartcliffe.
He began as a GP at the Hartwood Healthcare practice in the late 1980s, before finally hanging up his stethoscope on Thursday, after treating generations of Hartcliffe people.
Friends, family, colleagues and patients paid glowing tributes to Dr Darvill. A post on the Hartwood Healthcare Facebook page announcing his retirement was met with dozens of patients expressing their love for the popular doctor.
The post said: “For the past couple of years he has been mainly doing managerial work... and you may still see him in the corridor on the odd occasion as he will continue to help out in the background on a very parttime basis.
“We know he has been a very much loved and respected GP here who has loved working in Hartcliffe and will be missed.”
Many patients replied he had been the best doctor they’d ever had. “A doctor that always listens and takes his time,” said one. “A doctor that made sure you got the best treatment.”
One colleague said the GP was one of the last of a kind – a doctor who stayed in one community and dedicated their life and career to helping and caring for it.
Dr Darvill was given an understated send-off.
Dr Sue Williams, a fellow GP at the Hartcliffe health centre, said his departure would leave a great hole: “We will miss him hugely, but know that he will be keeping in touch, and helping on the sidelines, and we will celebrate the occasional days when he turns up with his unending good cheer, to inspire us to carry on!”
Practice manager Ellie Truss said: “His kind and caring nature make it an absolute pleasure to come to work and will make it all the more difficult for me when he leaves. He is the guiding light within the Hartwood family and will be sorely missed by staff and patients alike.”
Dr Darvill met his wife at the surgery, and they now have four children.
His early time in Hartcliffe coincided with some of the most challenging periods in the area’s history – the Imperial tobacco factory finally closed, and the area saw devastating riots a couple of years later.
Local councillor Helen Holland said Dr Darvill was held in “real affection” by the people of Hartcliffe.
“In over 30 years of representing Hartcliffe, there are some people that really stand out as significant leaders, in whatever field, and Dr Darvill is definitely one of those,” she said.
“The real affection that he is held in, his knowledge of generations of the same families, his understanding of the underlying health inequalities of the estate, are all a testament to the contribution he has made to our community. He will be a very hard act to follow.”
Working alongside Dr Darvill for many years in trying to address those health inequalities has been John Macleod, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology and Primary Care from the University of Bristol.
He said: “Dougal is the beating heart of Hartwood and has been my own wise big brother ever since I joined the family 15 years ago. I’m really not sure how we’ll manage without him, but we owe it to him and all the patients he’s always tirelessly championed to do our very best.”
Prof Macleod, Dr Darvill and the other health professionals at Hartwood and the sister practice of Hillview have a higher workload than other places with younger, more affluent populations.
Some of the communities are in the bottom one per cent of most deprived areas in the country, which means health and social problems are more concentrated and complicated, and getting enough funding is a bigger challenge.
Prof Macleod said: “Nobody works in Hartcliffe for the money, we do it because we love it, with our eyes open. It’s a great place to work and a great team to work with and the stoicism, fortitude, bravery and sometimes bloody-mindedness of our patients is inspirational. And nobody worked harder or gave Hartcliffe more than Dougal.”