First female GP for Shannon

SHANNON will have a female GP for the first time on April 29 when Dr Yvonne Williams begins work in the town.

Dr Williams is originally from Shannon but grew up in County Cork before studying medicine in Galway. After graduating with honours in 1999, she worked in Brisbane and Melbourne before returning to Ireland, where she spent time working in Cork University Hospital, Milford Care Centre, the Mid-Western Regional Hospital and Limerick’s maternity hospital.
She went on to complete her GP training in Wales and was awarded a distinction for her membership exams. She was also awarded a fellowship in general practice in 2006 by the Welsh deanery.
Dr Williams returned to Ireland in 2007 and has worked as a GP since then. She also taught in the new medical school at the University of Limerick but resigned from that to concentrate all her energies on the Shannon venture.
Up until now, local women have not had the option of going to see a female GP and Dr Williams believes they may be more comfortable speaking to another woman about some matters.
“I think women like to see a female GP for certain things, whether it’s a breast examination, a smear check or screening for an STD or maybe sexual problems. It’s nice to have that option. If you’re very ill, I think you just want to see a good GP, it doesn’t matter so much in an emergency or if it’s urgent. For routine women’s health, I think it’s nice to have that as an option. I’ve done extra qualifications in women’s health and family planning. I can offer additional services that they wouldn’t have been able to get in Shannon until now.”
She says she really enjoys working as a GP. “I love it because of the variety. I’ve done a lot of different hospital jobs but with this, no two days are the same and you see everything from new-born babies to the very elderly. You see all the family.
“You get to know your patients very well over time and you develop a special relationship with them, which you don’t have an opportunity to do in a hospital setting. In a hospital setting, people are in and you’re trying to get them home as quickly as possible, whereas in general practice, you get to know them over time and over generations, which is nice,” she explained.