Dr Manohar Thakur spent a fantastic 10 years with OneMedical Group and retired in the summer.

Dr Thakur, who worked at St Thomas Road Surgery, has kindly shared some thoughts on his experiences with us.

“After almost 27 years as a General Surgeon, I decided to retrain as a GP and joined OneMedical Group soon after qualifying in November 2011. The Surgery was called the Derby Open Access Centre then and I found myself part of a lively, bustling inner-city practice. We had registered patients like any other, but we were also open to walk-in patients, which made it all the more vibrant.

“With a mix of patients from across the globe, I had the chance to speak to people from all sorts of nationalities, ethnicities, social and economic status and, of course, languages. When I look back, I realise that this was one of the most interesting and rewarding fruits of my time at the Surgery. I found that we could get round any language barriers with little tricks, like bringing along a trusted friend or relative to help interpret. Very rarely did we need professional interpreter services – occasionally via the telephone, but almost never in person.

“A challenge faced in my time there was the unusually large number of patients with addiction problems attending the practice – from smoking and alcohol, to codeine, cocaine and heroin. I remember with satisfaction (and also pride) the number of patients we helped get over or manage these addictions, through building trust and working at pace with them.

“I enjoyed the freedom I experienced as I went about my professional duties during my time at OneMedical Group. When we won a bid to run Derby Urgent Care Centre, the nature of my site changed and became what is now known as St Thomas Road Surgery, running as a normal GP surgery with its own registered list of patients. Change brought challenges in itself but I could not be more grateful for the love, care and respect I’ve been given by my team and for the professional support I’ve been given at all times.

“I can say with absolute honesty I’ve been committed to the work ethics of OneMedical Group, mainly by keeping my patients at the centre of my professional universe and by bringing in innovative measures whenever practicable.

“My parting message to my clinical colleagues is this: be a friend to your patient. You’re already a clinician!”

Thank you very much to Dr Thakur for sharing his experiences and for his supportive words.