A Message from Dr Harper

After 22 years as a general practitioner at Bramblehaies Surgery, I will be stepping down from being a GP partner on 01/07/2025.

I am still planning to work reduced days at Bramblehaies for some time, but I will no longer have my own patient list, so I will not have “regular patients”; all of my patients will be moved over to Dr Alexander Werhun.

It has been a great privilege for me to work as a family doctor to our patients in Cullompton. I’m grateful to all of my patients for the opportunity to be involved in their lives, from new babies to the elderly. It has been wonderful to see people grow from being children to becoming parents themselves.  And from being middle-aged to becoming elderly.  For me, it has been a particular privilege to be involved in palliative and end of life care. Thank you for everything you have taught me and continue to teach me.

All of the GPs who were at Bramblehaies when I started in 2003 have now retired – one younger than me!  Over the years, there have been huge changes both in the practice team and in the way that medicine and general practice are performed. We have been lucky to recruit some really good new doctors, nurses and an amazing practice team who work tirelessly to try to provide the best service that we can. I feel very lucky to have worked with all of these people and I am confident they will continue to provide the best possible care, despite the difficulties General Practice is currently experiencing.

I also thank our wonderful hard-stretched community nursing team, our local physios and reablement team, the many dedicated staff in the various care homes around Cullompton and the many other community health and care workers. My impression is that throughout my years here, all of these teams have strived to provide the best care they can, often in quite difficult circumstances. You have all been amazing to work with.

I now look forward to the next chapter in my life, which hopefully will involve seeing more of friends and family, spending more time gardening and travelling a bit.

Once again, thank you for the last 22 years and I wish you all the best for the future.