‘There just aren’t enough GPS to cope, and now there is one less’

Extracts from Gail’s husband Christopher’s heartrending post

“My wife went missing for nearly 24 hours before a search and rescue dog team found her body in a forest. The unbearable pressure of her job finally got to her.

“Her job as a partner at a GP surgery became overwhelming. Especially during the pandemic. She was seeing patients face-to-face the whole time, as well as the unbelievable amount of telephone consultations that were happening. She saw old people dying in care homes during the pandemic, and was working at the vaccine centres.

“The pressure of not making mistakes, and the endless emails and paperwork meant that for the last few years of her life she’d been neglecting herself. She went into a deep, deep depression from the Monday to the Wednesday, when she took her life…

“This was not a cry for help. If you knew my wife, you’d know how far from normal any of this was for her. She was so proud of our boys, and would have never dreamed of doing anything to hurt them. However, mental illness had other ideas.

“It’s such a sad waste of a wonderful, beautiful, funny and absolutely bananas wife, mother and doctor.

“My boys have lost their mother, and I have lost my best friend. There just aren’t enough GPS to cope, and now there is one less.”

For confidential help and support, contact the Samaritans on 116 123 or visit its website