Retirement is what the doctor ordered
Last updated at 20:27, Thursday, 05 April 2012
A Cockermouth GP has hung up his stethoscope after 30 years as a doctor in West Cumbria.
Dr David Clarkson, 57, of Eaglesfield, has spent the last 16 years at Derwent House Surgery on Wakefield Road.
He took early retirement last Friday to allow him to pursue two of his great passions in life – cycling and fell walking – and visit his sons Richard, 30, and Paul, 28, who live in Sheffield.
He will still take on some part-time work as a locum and carry out GP appraisals.
He said: “I love the outdoors and the mountains, which have kept me here.
“I also have great colleagues and a great team of GPs here.
“We managed to come through the 2009 floods as a team which was a challenge.
“I am going to miss my colleagues and patients, because they have become friends.
“It has been a privilege looking after my patients and I have been inundated with cards and good wishes and I want to thank everybody for their kind words.
“It has been an enjoyable and fulfilling experience looking after people, which is why I chose to be a GP, but I just felt it was the right time to move on.”
Dr Clarkson, who is married to Ursula and also has a daughter Louise, 24, who works at the West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven, trained at Leeds Medical School before becoming a GP in Scarborough.
He then moved to the Lowther Street practice in Whitehaven for 14 years before moving to Derwent House Surgery 16 years ago.
He said that one of the highlights of his time at Derwent House was helping to save its in-house dispensary after it was threatened with closure in 2008.
The surgery is now due to move into the new Cockermouth Hospital on Isel Road when it is built.
Dr Vijay Kopparthi will join the practice next month as Dr Clarkson’s replacement.
First published at 19:23, Thursday, 05 April 2012
Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk
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