Being a GP in a prison gives the medical practitioner access to
some of the most disadvantaged people in society and the
opportunity to provide consistent care which otherwise might
not have been accepted. Mental health, substance misuse and
the control and prevention of communicable disease are practiced
often within isolation from the mainstream NHS, but prison doctors
are supported by nurses and staff.
Dr Mary Bradley is a prison GP in Devon.
How long have you been in General
Practice?
26 years –18 of them as a Prison Medical
Officer
What made you decide to become a
GP?
I enjoyed the variety of general practice and the
setting of the patients in their homes or their community. It was
also a choice that was compatible with my family commitments.
What are your current roles? Please
list.
I am currently a Prison Medical Officer,
providing Primary Care to prisoners in a Remand Prison.
What other roles have you had (in
general practice and beyond)?
I was a Retained Doctor
in General Practice for five years.
How many hours would you say are in
your average working week?
About 23 hours (my
contract is for 20hours a week)
How do you spend those
hours?
|
Activity
|
Time expressed in hours
|
|
Seeing patients in surgery
|
10 hrs
|
|
Seeing patients out of hours
|
3+ hours (includes evening receptions at
HMP)
|
|
Team meetings
|
2 hours
|
|
Doing paperwork
|
6 hours
|
|
Teaching / Training
|
½ hour
|
|
Continuing Professional Development
|
1 hour
|
|
Telephone consultation
|
When on-call, telephone communication is with
a nurse at HMP
|
|
Other 2
|
There are other Prison-specific medical
activities such as seeing patients before release.
|
|
Childcare
|
(This has been a big part of my week)
|
Do you have any special clinical
interests?
Prison Health Care
Are you involved in any other
professional organisations or committees?
I am a
member of our local non-principal group
What has been your career high point
so far? / What do you enjoy most about general
practice?
Holistic care for the patient
Low points? / What do you enjoy
least?
Being woken up when on-call!
What three words would you use to
describe General Practice?
Continuing varied,
unfolding.
If you were making your career choice
now, what would you choose?
I would still choose
General Practice.
Useful links:
Prison
Health Care Practitioners
Student BMJ -
Combining Medicine and Law (page 13)
Police Surgeon | Football stadium
doctor | GP
trainer | Media doctor | Armed Forces GP | GP with a Special
Interest | Roles within the College