A TYWYN GP has extolled the virtues of practising medicine in one of the UK’s most beautiful areas.

Trainee doctors in Wales are the most satisfied overall in the UK, according to the General Medical Council Survey 2016.

And NHS Wales has launched a major new recruitment drive to attract more GPs to train, work and live in rural Wales.

One person enjoying the benefits of training in Meirionnydd is 34-year-old Tom Windsor-Lewis, who also volunteers for his local mountain rescue team, and encourages anyone who is interested to come train in the region.

Originally from Oxford, Tom chose to train as a GP in Tywyn after spending ten years in Warwick and Coventry.

GP registrar, Tom said: “A move to rural north Wales to do GP training was a no-brainer for me after spending some time working in the acute sector.

“I wanted a location that was both medically challenging and rewarding yet also offered a strong sense of community and amazing landscape.

“Training, working and living in Snowdonia National Park ticks all of those boxes.

“In some of the training practices the nearest hospital is over an hour away.

“Rural GPs have a much greater role to play in dealing with difficult and emergency cases and need to be up to date if they are to be effective. This is not somewhere to come and sit on the back burner.

“The training in Wales has enabled me to get exposure to broad and challenging situations, where I’ve had to think on my feet and take on greater responsibility more quickly.

“It’s a real hands-on experience, and alongside a highly tailored training programme, it’s been very empowering.”

When Tom is not helping patients in hospital, he is out saving them from precarious situations.

“Alongside my GP training, I’ve been lucky enough to get a role as team doctor in the local mountain rescue team,” he continued.

“This allows me to combine work and leisure all into one, it’s also very exhilarating as we work and train directly with helicopters from the RAF and Coastguard."

Read the full story in this week’s north editions of the Cambrian News