Retired Oswestry doctor pens a novel
A retired Shropshire doctor has written a novel which gives patients an insight into why GPs make the decisions that they do.
Doctor in Mind follows four generations of a family from tiny baby to great grandfather and the health problems that they face.
And, while the family and the doctor are entirely fictitious the author, Dr Paul Middleton, says the scenarios are ones that he has come across during his three decades of practice in Oswestry.
Since retiring just over a year ago, Dr Middleton has found himself on the other side of the Dr's consulting table, dealing with cancer.
Now in remission he is giving all the profits from the novel to the Nigel O'Connor Haemotology Unit at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.
"I had the idea for the book many years ago. I have written many medical papers, all from the perspective of the doctor or health expert for the medical world. But I thought it would be good to write something to show patients why GPs make the decisions that they do.
The book follows the members of the four generations of a fictional family as they visit a surgery with a wide range of health issues.
"I'm not looking at those health conditions. What I am looking at is the interactions between doctor and the patient," he said.
"They will have noticed that doctors have a language and behaviour of their own and it is because they are trained in a certain way.
"We have 10 minutes for each patient and in those 10 minutes we have to ensure that we do our job properly," he said.
"I hope this will help clear up some of the miscommunication that can happen between patient and doctor."
Dr Middleton, 61, began his career in the RAF, moving into the civvy street NHS in the 1980s, firstly working in Clun and moving to Oswestry in 1987.
He went on to work at the Caxton Surgery in the town for 30 years.
"I wrote a lot of the book when I was ill last year and unable to do much. I was so tired I would write for short periods of time and then have to rest. The Haemotology Unit at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital has been fantastic."
Doctor In Mind is available in paperback or on Kindle from Amazon from £5.
