"My Good Samariton - G.P.s"

I've been under the care of the G. P. s at Manor Practice in Wallington, Surrey from May2000 till Nov. 2011. I joined this surgery because that was the only surgery that admitted people from the Women's Refuge locally, as I had just then moved into one with my young daughter.

To my very surprise, there, I met two angels who have literally saved my life. One is: Dr. M. Padayachee. I had taken my daughter to her to consult about her mental health condition at that time. After the consultation, Dr. Padayachee turned around & told me, 'come back & see me if you want to talk'. I did go back & saw her and I never stopped seeing her until she left the surgery a couple of years after.

Following her leaving, I started seeing Dr. M. Amjad at the surgery. To my surprise, he turned out to be another angel. Both of them are shining examples of what G. P. s is meant to be for the patients & more so the vulnerable ones. Both of them were very respectful, very trustworthy, very friendly, very cheerful, always welcoming with open arms, always willing to help, always understanding, and compassionate, very soothing, very comforting & always willing to listen fully.

They always were happy to make time for me, even during the times I happened to be the last patient for that session, and they were running late. They were very knowledgeable & treated me as a whole person. When all the other so called supporting networks including the NHS (& it's St. George's & SW Mental Health Trust) refused to support, treat & ill-treat me, my G. P. s stood by me & provided all the support they possibly could. They never gave up on me. They never gave up referring me to the specialist units again & again, even though they were very frustrated with their bureaucracy, inadequacy, unprofessionalism & short-sightedness. There were days when I had made appointments just to go and talk and other days to cry. There were days I had been there and come out without even talking about the matter for which I had made the appointment in the first place! They were the only other consistency in my life apart from my daughter.

The reason I moved surgery was because I realised that even after them trying their very best & beyond, they were unable to access the right specialist treatment for me. I wanted to take a chance with another G. P. who would have another catchment area for referrals. Hence I moved to another surgery and I have moved again. In the next surgery, another G. P. actually cut me short on hearing the word 'depression' and said, ' You are with the Mental Health Team aren't you? Go & talk to them. I don't have the time'. Sadly, this G. P. didn't even bother to ask what I wanted to talk about and they always would run late & spent only between 1 & 3 minutes each time I saw her..................Ever since I left Manor Practice, not a single day has passed without me regretting changing my G. P. Not a single day has passed by without me thinking about Dr. Padayachee & Dr. Amjad. I miss them both very much.