Doctor Gill Turner is retiring from Lymington hospital after an NHS career spanning more than four decades.

LONG-SERVING doctor Gill Turner is retiring from Lymington Hospital after an NHS career spanning more than four decades.

A highly respected consultant physician in community geriatrics medicine for Southern Health NHS trust, Dr Turner is described as being a “passionate advocate for the care of older people throughout her career”.

She was recently presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the British Geriatrics Society, as well as being nominated for an NHS Parliamentary Award.

Professor Adam Gordon, president of the British Geriatrics Society, said: “Gill’s impact in Wessex and across the UK cannot be overstated. She leaves our NHS in much better shape to serve the patient group that use it the most, older people. We are in her debt and will remain so for many years to come.

“Gill believes that older people deserve the best that modern healthcare can deliver, and she has worked passionately to deliver this through her role in developing and leading training for doctors and other healthcare professionals.

“Her recent work in measuring the impact of the care we deliver is pivotal. It will help us to identify when and where good care is delivered, and work to improve things where it is not.

After qualifying in 1981, she spent much of her early career specialising in Parkinson’s Disease and became the chair for The Parkinson’s Society locally and a contributor to their work nationally.

She was also involved in the British Geriatrics Society between 2012 and 2021, and influenced national policy as lead author for the ‘Fit for Frailty’ guide to managing frailty for clinicians.

Described as a “catalyst” in developing the older people’s multi-professional consultant programme, Dr Turner has trained and mentored staff over many years.

She has also trained generations of junior doctors, inspiring many to become geriatricians or to work within the field of Parkinson’s Disease.

Dr Steve Tomkins, Southern Health’s Chief Medical Officer, said: “Gill’s engagement with, and training of, students and junior staff has had a really positive knock-on effect with a wide number of patient groups, and she will be sorely missed by all those who have had the benefit of working with and learning from her.”