April’s Story – Could you be the patient with the longest history at our surgery?
We have one entry in from a patient John K, a member of our PPG:
“… At a recent meeting it was suggested that although new people are joining it would be interesting to find out who has been with the practice for the longest period and which family. To start the ball rolling I will stake my claim… My mother Emily Harvey moved to Stainbeck Lane in 1927 and registered as a patient followed by my father William Kellett in the early 1930s whose family had moved to Norfolk Gardens. They met at one of the regular dances held at the Parochial Hall, but their courting was interrupted by the war.
As soon as my father was demobbed, my parents married at St Matthews, and I was the third child born. In the early years of the National Health Service, home births were still the norm but as my mother was by now 37 my family clubbed together to pay for me to be born in Fallodon Nursing Home in Chapel Allerton in January 1952.
The attached photo was taken in December 1952, and it shows me trying unsuccessfully to book an appointment with the then Dr Dinsdale to discuss my teething problems.
Dr Dinsdale was based in a small terrace house, now demolished, near the cemetery which had one secretary, one small waiting room and one small consultation room. When Dr Dinsdale retired, the practice was moved to its present site which seemed almost palatial at the time. My memories of Dr Dinsdale were that he dressed very formally, and that the surgery was open on a first come basis in the morning and late afternoon and in between home visits were the norm.
Please inform the practice if you can beat 73 years to ensure even better care because I am sure Dr Hector-Goma would love to claim the Guinness Book of Records patient longevity award for the practice.”
Thanks to John K for submitting this. We will be regularly sharing stories from patients here and in our newsletter – if you have a story you want to share, please get in touch by emailing allerton.westfield-gp@nhs.net FAO Newsletter. whether about your journey with a condition or treatment, or more generally about our local area and communities, we would be glad to hear from you.