Large medical centres filled with doctors and locums are the norm these days. Dr John Thompson is an exception to the rule as he runs his own surgery in the rural village of Penygroes, near Caernarfon, and still lives in the traditional doctor's house next door. Dr Thompson's Casebook takes a look at the surgery, the patients and the important role the doctor plays in village life.
"In the olden days most doctors would live above their surgeries as it made it easier for patients to call upon them during the night," explains Dr Thompson. "Apart from this surgery, I only know of one other in Scotland where the doctor actually lives on site too. Most doctors don't want to work weekends now, let alone be woken from their sleep."
"Working as a doctor provokes a range of emotions - there's disappointment, frustration, relief, but most of all you're always working against the clock."
The house next door which dates back to 1918 came as part of the surgery package and has been an integral part of the village for decades.
"The building is so old that I've still got room to keep a horse in the back!" laughs the doctor.
Dr Thompson, who is originally from Leeds, first came to Wales when he answered an advert for a surgery in a 'north Wales coastal town'. That town was Caernarfon and he worked there until he took on the one-doctor surgery in Penygroes in 1974. Once he made the decision to move to Wales, the doctor was determined to learn the language - properly.
"I know some doctors who get away with 'bore da' and 'diolch' but I wanted to hold conversations with my patients in their language," he says.
Evening classes and lots of practice with his patients have rewarded the doctor with fluent Welsh and even a genuine north Walian accent, priceless in an area where 88% of the population speak Welsh.
In a normal week, Dr Thompson will see patients at his surgery and also travel up to 10 miles to visit those patients in the area who are too ill to travel or have no means of transport. The 1000-patient surgery sees people from all walks of life as the area is a complex rural mix of traditional farming community and social deprivation. Throughout the five part series viewers will follow the progress of his patients and the ups and downs of the job.
"Working as a doctor provokes a range of emotions - there's disappointment, frustration, relief, but most of all you're always working against the clock," he explains.
