Oakley GP to retire after 30 years at village health centre

Dr Mathie has been caring for patients at the village's health centre for 30 years looking after the health of generations of families.

Over the last three decades he has seen a whole host of changes in the NHS.

"It has been my life for 30 years so it does feel quite strange," he said. "When I started, we were just a two man practice. Now the two practices have amalgamated and we are five doctors and a whole lot of other people as well.

Dr Iain Mathie who is retiring after 30 years at Oakley Health Centre. (Image: Contributed)

"Back in those days, we had had fewer patients and we knew them all really well. Now, because we are spread over more patients, instead of being 3,000 patients when it started, we now have responsibility for 9,000 so there is quite a big difference. You maybe don't know them quite so well as we used to."

Since Dr Mathie started, the role of a doctor has changed with the advent of new treatments as well as the introduction of shift patterns into the job.

"In primary care, we can do so much more and have so many guidelines to follow. There are so many things the hospital can do if we get the patient at the right time," he explained.

"I can remember patients coming to me a couple of days after having a heart attack in bed and they survived. They didn't call at the time.

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"Nowadays for things like a stroke, we have to get them in as an emergency where as before there was nothing that could be done so there are so many different expectations.

"Back in the days, I would have had to find their homes in the middle of the night – the thought I would get out of my bed to see somebody with a sore ear.

"We didn't do shift working back then. It was a day and night job. Now there are different ones at night and different shifts and that is the same in hospitals. Back then, it was all day and all night and all weekend."

Dr Mathie said over the years, he has been lucky to see generations of locals through his surgery.

"That has been lovely," he said. "The women who I have seen having babies and I have probably known them when they were kids and I know their parents and their grand parents.

"The community does really stick together. It has been a real privilege to be part of it and I will definitely miss that.

"I am so grateful to the partners and staff who have shared this adventure with me.

"NHS Fife is still struggling to recover from the effects of the Covid pandemic. While we shared experiences of tragedy, stress and fear, I’m proud of how the Oakley team provided a caring, personal and responsive service for our patients, through those dark days.

"I am now leaving the practice in the capable hands of five partners and an extensive team of nurses and associated clinicians, as well as the great team of admin heroes. Oakley Medical Practice has felt more like a family than a job, over these last 30 years."

Not one to get an immediate rest when he finishes up, Dr Mathie is heading out on a mission to Rwanda over Easter where he will spend around 10 days helping new mums with the Comfort International charity.

"This is a big adventure," he added. "It is exciting to have another project to help with – working among the poorest and neediest mums and babies in Kigali."