A beloved NHS doctor has died after the 'unbearable pressures of her job finally got to her, her husband has said.
In an emotional statement posted online, husband Christopher Milligan paid tribute to NHS doctor and mum Gail Milligan, who joined Camberley Health Centre in 2003.
The emotional husband and father claimed that the " unbearable pressure of her job finally got to her" in a viral post, adding: "For years she has been giving everything she had to other people in her professional life and her private life too. She really was the best of us."
In a lengthy statement, he claimed that her job as a partner at a GP surgery had become "overwhelming" during the pandemic.
The post was shared on Facebook but it has since been widely shared across social media after he gave permission for it to be made public.
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The post continued: "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 06:45 and not get home until usually between 19.30 and 20:00.
"When she arrived 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."
Mr Milligan said his wife received an email last Sunday that "hit her so hard she never recovered."
"She went into a deep, deep depression from the Monday to the Wednesday, when she took her life," he wrote.
"We tried to intervene. Her colleagues tried as hard as they could to get her out of it. Offering to take over for her, and trying to reassure her that her thinking about a situation was wrong.
"And it was wrong. 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."
He added: "She was so proud of our boys, and would have never dreamed of doing anything to hurt them... However, mental illness had other ideas.
"Looking back, and 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.
"It's such a sad waste of a wonderful, beautiful, funny and absolutely bananas wife, mother and doctor. All over something that had no relation to reality.
"The next time you hear somebody banging on about lazy doctors, please stop and think about what happened to my wife. We are in no doubt that the job made her ill.
"Me and my boys are broken. Especially me. I don't think I'll ever be the same again. We'd been together for thirty years this year. It was almost always lots of laughter and fun with huge amounts of piss-taking.
"My boys have lost their mother, and I have lost my best friend."
In a statement Thames Valley Police said: "Officers searching for a woman who was reported missing from Wokingham have this morning, sadly located a body.
"Search teams from Thames Valley Police, Berkshire Lowland Search & Rescue and Berkshire Search & Rescue Dogs located the woman’s body at just after 10.30am near to Foresters Way, Bracknell.
"Her next of kin have been notified and are being offered support.
"The death is being treated as unexplained, but not suspicious, and a file will be prepared for the coroner."
Supt Helen Kenny, Bracknell and Wokingham Commander, added: "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.”
Dr Milligan worked at Camberley Health Centre, which said online that the 47-year-old would be "sorely missed by staff and the patients whom she supported and cared for with such dedication."
In a statement posted online, the centre said: "Dr Milligan qualified at Manchester University in 1998. She trained as a GP in Reading, and joined Camberley Health Centre in 2003.
"Dr Milligan was a dedicated and passionate GP and was much loved and respected by patients and colleagues alike. Her commitment and expertise in her various roles across primary care and medical education were clear to all."
Fiona Edwards, Chief Executive of NHS Frimley, told the Mirror: "Everyone at NHS Frimley was shocked at the unexpected death of Dr Gail Milligan, a much-loved friend and colleague and a highly respected and admired clinician.
"We are working with her practice to provide support at this difficult time, as well as supporting wider staff who knew and worked with Gail.
"We would like to add our sympathies and condolences to the many already expressed to Gail’s family and friends.”
The Samaritans can be reached around the clock, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. If you need a response immediately, it's best to call. You can reach them by calling 116 123, by emailing jo@samaritans.orgorbyvisitingsamaritans.org
