GP says farewell to patients and staff... after 40 years
IN his own words... Dr Tony Wordley, of Ivy Grove Surgery will be retiring after 40 years’ service on March 31.
AS I approach my 65th birthday I have decided now is the time to hang up my stethoscope and retire.
It is hard to believe it is 40 years since I started working in Ripley. I arrived in the summer of 1980, having just married my wife Hilary, who is also a doctor. We were not expecting to stay in Ripley for very long as this was a GP training post.
During our first few weeks we lived in an upstairs room at the old surgery as our new house in The Spinney was not ready. At that time the surgery was based in a large Victorian house at 1, Derby Road (where the Co-op supermarket now stands). Dr Aspinall was my trainer, and I gradually learned on the job how to be a GP.
I realise how young and inexperienced I must have seemed, yet the partners (Drs Aspinall, Cox and Jones) saw some potential, as within a few months I was offered the chance to join the partnership.
First it was necessary to spend six months in the maternity unit in Derby, supervising deliveries at Babington Hospital. These invariably happened in the middle of the night!
Soon after I arrived, the surgery moved into new premises at the top of Ivy Grove. This served us well for about 25 years before it was outgrown, forcing us to move to the present building, still known as Ivy Grove Surgery.
Forty years ago, all we needed was a couple of receptionists and a secretary. Five-minute appointments were ample and we kept all our records on paper. When mobile phones came in they were large, heavy and expensive so we could only afford one for the on-call doctor.
What has not changed is the satisfaction of doing one’s best for every patient. I am now treating the children and grandchildren of people I first met in the 1980s. This is what general practice is really all about and is a great joy.
My final year has been blighted by Covid-19, which has changed the way we work, and not for the better. I think ten years’ worth of change has been compressed into 10 months.
I will miss the many charming and grateful patients I have known over the years, and above all the wonderful staff and colleagues at Ivy Grove Surgery. Will have more time to enjoy with our two young grandsons. Farewell, and best wishes to everyone.