Hospital waves goodbye to popular doctors (From This is The West Country)

Hospital waves goodbye to popular doctors

8:00pm Monday 14th December 2009

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TWO paediatricians who have cared for thousands of children at Yeovil District Hospital are retiring this Christmas.

Many families across the area will have benefited from the support of two of the hospital’s longest serving doctors, Dr Mary Smith and Dr John Dearlove.

Dr Smith first worked at Yeovil District Hospital as a registrar and was considered to be such an outstanding young doctor that she was headhunted back to Yeovil after training at children’s hospitals including Great Ormond Street and Alderhay in Liverpool.

She has given outstanding care to patients and their families with a wide range of conditions and has been a particular pillar of support for youngsters with cancer and cystic fibrosis.

Dr Dearlove is a child’s dream doctor and much loved by his patients with his colourful, engaging and slightly eccentric character sporting his brightly colourful bow ties, shorts and open toe sandals.

He is leaving the Trust to retrain in tropical medicine which will enable him to work for voluntary organisations overseas helping youngsters with conditions such as Malaria, TB and HIV.

He has already visited Mufulira in Zambia to learn about the health challenges for children there.

At their retirement presentation, the chairman of the Trust, Angela Dupont, said: “Yeovil District Hospital is losing two absolutely great doctors, colleagues and friends and they will be missed enormously.

“We wish them all the very best for the future and thank them for their massive contribution to this hospital.”

Dr Smith will be returning to Yeovil District Hospital in the New Year ear on a part-time basis.

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