Dr David O'Reilly retires from West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust
A consultant rheumatologist, who used to hold weekly clinics at Botesdale Health Centre, has retired.
Dr David O’Reilly has retired from the West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust after 26 years of service.
He leaves behind a thriving rheumatology department that he was instrumental in developing.
Dr O’Reilly said: “I feel privileged to have been a consultant at such an excellent hospital that is truly supported by the community in which it is situated.
“I have also always been supported along the way by an amazing, hard-working team, and by the hospital’s executive team.
"As a consultant you are a person of trust, and that has been a real privilege.”
After graduating in medicine from Jesus College, Cambridge in 1980, David trained in general medicine in Manchester and Nottingham, before changing to general practice.
He then joined the obstetrics department at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.
He said: “I must have delivered 100 babies in that time at least.”
READ MORE: Dr Tim Cooke retires as partner of Botesdale Health Centre
He then worked as a GP for a year in Manchester, before starting rheumatology training rotation there.
“It was actually my wife who spotted the rheumatology post at the West Suffolk, said it would suit me, and the rest is history.”
David and his wife, Jane, have been married since 1980, and have four children together.
He joined the West Suffolk Hospital in 1993 as a consultant physician and rheumatologist, where he has been caring for patients ever since.
He is also a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and was named a ‘Distinguished Member’ of the British Society of Rheumatology in 2016.
David said: “I’ve introduced a lot of changes over the years, as we are always keeping up to date with new research and the best treatments.
"If I leave a legacy, I hope it’s that everyone’s opinion counts, and that good team work makes for an efficient department.”
Looking ahead to retirement, David continued: “I’m really looking forward to it, but am also apprehensive as it is going to be a big lifestyle change. It will also be a learning curve, as I’m soon to become a grandad for the first time, to two new grandchildren. So I’ll definitely be keeping busy.”
To mark his retirement, David chose to raise a collection for the charity Arthritis Research UK, and has raised more than £500 to date.
