The husband of a GP who took her own life last week has blamed the “unbearable pressure” of the job for her death. Dr Gail Milligan’s husband said he is in no doubt her job led to her decision.
The 47-year-old mum of two's body was found in woodland in Bracknell, Berkshire, 24 hours after she was reported missing. Her husband Christopher Milligan posted an emotional tribute in which he described the huge workload she faced and wanted to raise awareness of the pressures doctors are under.
In the Facebook post, which he gave permission to be shared, he said : "It's such a sad waste of a wonderful, beautiful, funny and absolutely bananas wife, mother and doctor.”
Four days a week she would leave for work at 6.45am and return at 8pm, where she would work until he made her go to sleep at 11pm. On her Thursdays 'off', she would work for 12 hours from home.
Her jobs increased during the pandemic, working in a vaccination centre and a care home, where she watched many older people die. She was also responsible for training three GPs and an HR role at her practice.
He recounted the same workload all weekend, without time to even go on a dog walk, and said: “Next time you hear someone bang on about lazy doctors, please stop and think about what happened to my wife.”
He claimed her workload at Camberley Health Centre, Surrey, pushed her into a dark place.
He said: “She drove to a forest, walked deep into it where she would be nearly impossible to find, and took her life in the most shockingly violent way.”
According to Thames Valley Police, Dr Milligan, from Wokingham, was reported missing at 11pm Wednesday, July 27, and her body was found 24 hours later near Foresters Way, Bracknell.
Mr Milligan added: "For years she has been giving everything she had to other people in her professional life and private life too. She really was the best of us.
"Her job as a partner at a GP surgery became overwhelming. Especially during the pandemic. She was seeing patients face-to-face the whole time, as well as the unbelievable amount of telephone consultations that were happening.
"She saw old people dying in care homes during the pandemic and was working at the vaccine centres. The pressure of not making mistakes, and the endless emails and paperwork, meant that for the last few years of her life she'd been neglecting herself.
"She used to leave for work at 6.45am and not get home until usually between 7.30pm and 8pm. When she arrived at home she would generally work until I made her go to bed at 11pm.
"That was a 'lazy' four days a week. On her 'lazy' day off on Thursdays, she would work for about 12 hours. Meetings on Zoom and Microsoft Teams, never-ending emails and calls. This tipped over into the weekends more recently. The same workload all weekend.
"Very recently she hasn't even had time for an hour's dog walk. All that and running the business of the practice. Human resources was her responsibility too and, sadly, it turned out to be the thing that broke her.
"Last Sunday afternoon she opened an email that hit her so hard that she never recovered. She went into a deep, deep, depression. She had lost the ability to think rationally. Something had gone wrong in her head. By the time we realised what was happening, it was already too late."
Three days later she took her own life, despite her family and colleagues' attempts to intervene.
He said: “This was not a cry for help, it was clearly the only way she could see an end to her suffering. If you knew my wife, you know how far from normal any of this was for her. Looking back, talking to friends and family, I think she had been hiding it for years, while helping other people deal with their mental health, she neglected her own.”
He continued: “Me and my boys are broken. Especially me. I don’t think I will ever be the same again. There just aren’t enough GPs to cope, and now there is one less. An hour after I found that Gail was dead, I had to take our dog to be put to sleep. Aggressive cancer had torn through her at a terrific rate."
The Thames Valley Police are treating the death as unexpected, but not suspicious.
Superintendent Helen Kenny, Bracknell and Wokingham Commander, said: “Very sadly, after an extensive search, we have located the body of a woman. We are offering support to her next of kin, and on behalf of Thames Valley Police, I extend our heartfelt condolences to her family and friends at this extremely difficult time.”
