A County Derry doctor was tonight named Northern Ireland’s GP of the Year.
Dr Emma Casey is a GP in Eglinton Medical Practice.
She was tonight honoured with the Royal College of General Practitioners Northern Ireland’s prestigious GP of the Year award during a ceremony in Derry’s Guildhall.
She was nominated for the award by Louise Payne, whose mother, Josephine King, had been a patient of Dr Casey’s.
Reflecting on the care given to her mother, Ms Louise Payne told RCGPNI: “Dr Casey provided palliative care in the true sense… it was like a friend calling, only this friend brought total reassurance to mum.
“Although working out of a very busy practice, she always made time and would come into the house with a warm smile and took time to listen to mum and then she always spoke to me and had time to listen and answer any concerns I had.”
Accepting her award, Dr Casey (pictured above) thanked her husband, her family, and the staff of Eglinton Medical Practice for supporting her to balance the demands of general practice with bringing up her three children.
She also remembered her patient Mrs King as ‘a pleasure to care for, who always brightened [her] day with her stories and advice’.
The RCGPNI GP of the Year award was presented at the annual New Members and Awards Ceremony in Derry, where the College welcomed a new generation of GPs to follow in Dr Casey’s footsteps.
Speaking at the event, RCGPNI Chair Dr John O’Kelly said: “Today, we are very pleased to be welcoming new family doctors to the profession and we wish them a very successful future career as general practitioners.
“I would like to offer my congratulations to Dr Casey on winning the award for GP of the Year. It is a tremendous honour to be acknowledged for going above and beyond when caring for a patient.
“Despite today being a joyous occasion, general practice in Northern Ireland continues to struggle with significant challenges.
“More than a quarter of our GPs are aged 55 or over and we are struggling to recruit enough new GPs to meet the growing demands from the population.
“We need more medical students to be able to train as family doctors and provide exceptional patient care like Dr Casey.”
If you have a story or want to send a photo or video to us please contact the Derry Now editorial team. Between 9am and 5pm Monday to Sunday please call 028 7129 6600 for Derry City stories or 028 7774 3970 for County Derry stories. Between 5pm and midnight please call or text 07825 711978. Or you can email john.gill@derrynews.net at any time.