18/03/2026
As many of you will already know our GP Partners Dr Feltwell and Dr Chhabra have made the difficult decision to leave General Practice and enjoy their well earned retirement. Please see below letter to you all from Dr Feltwell.
GOODBYE – IT’S BEEN AN HONOUR
On 3rd May 1991, I successfully completed my three month period of mutual assessment and replaced Dr Brian Clarke as a Partner at the old Central Surgery (the boarded up area opposite the Orwell Hotel). In the years that have followed, so much has changed: advances in Medicine and Technology; the town; and even the location of the surgery itself. However, many aspects of human nature and the need for kindness, reassurance and, if appropriate, humour have remained the same.
That first Winter, there was heavy snow and, without GPS, I relied on maps during home visits, but I was hampered because, in some places, the snow was so high that it covered the street names. In those early days, there were no computers, no internet, no mobile phones, and it was impossible to Google ailments. The GPs had pagers, which bleeped frequently, prompting us to ring the surgery for additional messages during the day and, in the evening, the pager prompted us to phone home where my wife acted as an on-call receptionist (the surgery phones were switched through to our homes). Looking back at that time, I marvel at how she was able to do this at the same time as having three children under five years old and working as Night Sister in the local hospitals.
Later, the Surgery acquired a duty mobile phone which was as big as a house brick and was passed ceremonially from one duty doctor to the next. We wrote in paper notes and handed out handwritten prescriptions that only a trained Pharmacist could read.
With GP fundholding, we were able to open a branch surgery in Trimley and have our own Physiotherapy department, but, unfortunately, that had to close when fundholding ceased. The Central Surgery site was too small for the practice’s needs, so we started to look for other locations. The Partnership gave me the role of seeking out other locations and writing business cases. After two failed bids, we secured the Grove Medical Centre site and it opened in 2014.
When the GP contract changed, I had to cease doing my own on call and joined the GP co-operative covering the whole of East Suffolk. It gave me the opportunity to start training the next generation of GPs. I often worked overnight across the whole of Suffolk, which provided a wide range of experience and a variety of challenging incidents.
Throughout my career, I have been active in Medical Politics trying to get the best for the whole Felixstowe area. At various times, I have been on the Local Medical Committee, protested against the closure of the Bartlet Hospital, been Director of a Primary Care Network, a member of the Integrated Neighbourhood Team, and, most recently, have tried to obtain more medical facilities in Felixstowe in order to meet the needs the whole area’s increasing population.
I have done many unusual house calls and have been bitten and chased by a variety of pets, including a large reptile. A parrot did once enable me to make a quick diagnosis when I asked a patient how much wine he drank and he said nothing. The parrot made a cork “popping “noise and a “glug , glug, glug” sound causing much embarrassment for the patient.
Looking back, I am enormously grateful to the teams I have worked with over the years. The former colleagues at the Central Surgery motivated and enabled me to set up the Grove Medical Centre and the Pharmacy. The Managers at the Primary Care Trust had the vision to support the business case for a new building. We visited a number of modern surgeries to learn from their strengths and weakness and incorporated what they would have done differently into the Grove
Medical Centre design. We were fortunate to have an award winning architect and, throughout the construction process, Jenny Molloy (the Central Surgery Practice Manager), Evans Scott (the IT Manager) and I met with the building team on site every week to micromanage the layout of the facilities. The initial Pharmacy team, led by Ahmed and Ebrahim Lulat, did a superb job in setting up the pharmacy and now Rutendo and Tatenda have taken this further offering a far wider range of patient services in partnership with the Day Lewis group.
People often ask whether I am proud of the Grove Medical Centre building and I am, but I am even prouder of the team that we have formed within it. This whole Grove Medical Centre team worked together superbly with local volunteers during the Covid Pandemic to provide vaccinations for the whole of Felixstowe, the surrounding villages, Kesgrave and Martlesham. We topped the league table for local and national vaccination centres. The credit for this must go to my Partner Dr Rajiv Chhabra and Practice Manager Kate Bloomfield for their organisational skills in running such a large team of clinicians and volunteers. Elaine Vincent did a splendid job training the vaccinators and leading many of the sessions. We were grateful to all the volunteers who helped with the vaccination effort. We are fortunate to have an active and supportive Patient Participation Group many of whose members helped during the pandemic. Mark Jepson the Chairman of the PPG (and then Mayor) could even be found shovelling snow in some of the worst weather. Special thanks must also go to Clive Garnham and the splendid team of volunteers who directed co-ordinated the parking and queuing process keeping good order with good humour in all weathers.
Dr Rajiv Chhabra and I met working together in the Out of Hours service and I was delighted when he agreed to join me at the Grove Medical Centre. He was born in Ipswich and it has often been a source of amusement that he is actually more local than me as I come from Feltwell in Norfolk. In addition to being a fine GP, Rajiv has superb managerial and organisational skills which have been invaluable. We are also great friends and, running such a large practice with just two partners, we have almost been an “Ant and Dec” of local General Practice.
After 42 years as a Doctor and 35 years in Felixstowe, it is time for me to retire and spend more time with my family, Church activities and hobbies. Dr Rajiv Chhabra will be retiring at the same time to focus on his family and business activities. Our last day at the Grove Medical Centre will be 31st March 2026. My wife Joyce (the Community Matron) and I have recently celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary and she will also be retiring at the end of March.
Rajiv and I are delighted and reassured to be handing over to a team that is already working at the surgery and many of you know. Our current Practice Manager Kate Bloomfield, Dr Rohit Goyal, Dr Olorunsuyi Ikumapayi (“Suyi”) and Dr Kate Riches and will be the new Partners and we know that you will be in safe hands.
I have been fortunate to have enjoyed such a long career. I am reminded of advice from older GPs who told me that “it is better to be friendly to all your patients than to make patients of all your friends”. Within the bounds of a professional relationship, I have always tried to achieve this balance. I have always told my Trainees to remember the saying that “doctors get the patients they deserve”. On that principle, I have been more than fortunate to have served you all for so long.
Best wishes
Stephen
