Dr Cole and Dr Gibbons

We are very sad to announce that Dr Cole and Dr Gibbons have decided to resign from the practice and will leave in July/August 2014.  We know that this news will come as a shock to some patients, particularly to those who have recently transferred from Dr Long’s list.  We can reassure you that Dr Cole and Dr Gibbons have not taken their decisions lightly and not without much thought and deliberation.  They are leaving to spend more time with their young families with a more flexible commitment to general practice.  We are recruiting for new doctors and will be able to update you on our progress as soon as possible.

You may not be aware that while we are open from 0800 until 1830 our doctors start their day much earlier and finish much later.  This is so that they can complete the administrative work to support their patients’ clinical care (referrals, follow ups, research, phone calls, letters, reviews, meetings) and visit patients at home and in Ottery Hospital.  Our GPs also have other commitments such as training and examining medical students, training GP registrars, research projects and staff support and education.  In addition some of our GPs work on projects outside the practice such as clinical commissioning and prescribing.  They also work collaboratively with other practices and providers including community health teams (nursing, mental health teams, school nurses, health visitors),  secondary care consultants, nursing homes and pharmacists.  As GP Partners they spend time strategically developing their business and monitoring the operation of the services we provide and the back office functions to support these services eg finance, personnel, premises and IT.