“Dear Patients,
I am retiring from practice on June 30th 2022. I want to say that I have enjoyed my career serving the local community here in Dudley, your support over the years has been exceptional.
I started working in Holly Hall and Woodside in July 1991 after medical training in Nottingham and New Zealand. I had my first period working as a family doctor in Wollaton, close to Nottingham University. This shaped my ideas about developing a medical practice and I decided to move back with my family to our hometown of Dudley to take on the practice in Holly Hall and Woodside as a singlehanded GP.
It is now 31 years and we have grown as a practice into an educational unit with many types of clinicians and moved into the Keelinge House Surgery in October 1998. The new workforce has slowly evolved, along with other practices in the West Midlands into a unit with many services and the new way of working that is now normal in the modern world. The telephone, computer, video and social media now enhancing the face to face of the previous GPs and nurses.
The GP teams across Britain have had many challenges through the pandemic and it has meant difficult times for all in society to access their family doctor and nurse. The team at Keeling House Surgery now has doctors, practice nurses, physician associates, in-practice pharmacists, midwife, health visitor, mental health team, specialist nurse support for care at home and first contact physiotherapist support. Behind the scenes they are supported by a new reception team alongside secretariat and administration team to ensure the patient care pathways are delivered.
They are all working so hard for you.
In recent years I have been recovering my own health and it has now reached a point where it is time for me to do other things.
I wish you all the best for the future with many years of good health and for the team at Keelinge House many years of giving the best service to you all.
Best wishes,
Steve Cartwright”