Call the Doctor: A Country GP Between the Wars, Tales of Courage, Hardship and Hope - Softcover

Ronald White-Cooper

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1447252128 ISBN 13: 9781447252122

Publisher: Pan, 2014

Synopsis

Ronald White-Cooper may have worked as a doctor in London's slums and tended to badly wounded men on the Western Front, but when he arrived in Dartmouth in 1920 to set up as a GP he found himself facing some unique challenges. From the normally reliable midwife convinced she was being haunted to the retired colonel suffering mysterious fits, from the farmer who insisted rubbing in Bovril had cured his bad back to the young girl dying of tuberculosis, all his medical skills were put to the test.

Ronald initially did his rounds on horseback but gradually the world changed, bringing not just cars but innovations like antibiotics which were to change medicine for ever. Over the years Ronald became a much-loved part of the community, often helping those who could not afford to pay him, and is remembered fondly to this day. Full of wonderful characters, written with warmth and humour, Call the Doctor brilliantly evokes a bygone age.

About this title

Book Description:

For fans of Call the Midwife and Nurse On Call, comes a funny, poignant account of life as a Devon country doctor.

From the Back Cover:

Ronald was an experienced surgeon, who had worked in London's East End and in the terrible conditions of the Somme during the First World War, but when he arrived in Dartmouth in 1920, newly-wed and looking for a fresh start as a GP, he found himself facing some unexpected challenges. Not only were local villagers unimpressed by the young doctor's new-fangled ways, but he would need all his wits, as well as his medical skills, to deal with the cases that came through his surgery door each day.

Whether it was a grumpy old farmer, a manic dentist or a midwife convinced she had been haunted, Ronald helped his patients as best he could, from premature births and the ever-prevalent TB to attempted suicides. In a world without antibiotics, where there was no cure for many common diseases, life was unpredictable. For Ronald too, there were times of personal tragedy as well as great joy as he practised through the depression and the Second World War.

Written with warmth and humour, and full of eccentric characters, Call the Doctor movingly evokes a bygone age.

About this edition

• Publisher: Pan
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1447252128
• ISBN 13: 9781447252122
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288
• Editor: Deborah White-Cooper