A GP WHO is retiring after more than 20 years of serving the people of Dunbar has paid tribute to the town and its medical centre.

Dr Beverley Mee will hang up her stethoscope at the end of the month after starting at Whitesands Medical Practice at the beginning of August 1998.

Originally from Sheffield, she has lived in East Lothian for more than 20 years but is calling it a day due to ill health.

Speaking ahead of her retirement, she said: “It is strange and it is sad.

“It is the people that I miss and the camaraderie because they are a fantastic team.

“I think Dunbar is very lucky that they have such a cohesive team and everybody just gets on very well.

“It is lovely and a really nice place to work.”

Dr Mee, whose husband Andrew Mackay is a GP in Edinburgh, joined the medical centre after working in the Australian Outback and then as a locum in Edinburgh and Fife.

The couple moved to East Lothian as they looked to start a family, with 20-year-old daughter Kate now in her fourth year of studying medicine at the University of Cambridge.

However, Dr Mee has been unable to work since March after she was admitted to hospital following a heart attack and a mini stroke.

The 54-year-old said she had lived with type 1 diabetes for many years and was having to retire as a result of complications of the condition.

Coronavirus restrictions have impacted on plans for a traditional retirement event, with a Zoom retirement meeting with her colleagues now being planned.

Dr Mee, who has an 18-year-old son Robbie, who is studying engineering in Bristol, told the Courier how she would miss the patients. She said: “I have loved my time working there and loved the people.

“I think Dunbar is a great town: the patients are lovely and it is just such a nice place to be.”

Already, she has received a retirement gift of a wooden bench, which now sits in the garden of her home in Haddington.

Dr Mee said: “It was made by one of my patients, who I have looked after for a while, called Robert Davidson, who is just a real character.

“He is a very lovely and real kind man and he made me the bench because I was leaving.”

Colleague Dr Debbie Strachan, who has worked with Dr Mee for more than 15 years, wished her well in retirement.

She said: “She has been dedicated to her role as a patient advocate for two decades.

“She has been selfless in her care for patients and leaves many sad patients and staff alike.

“She will be a huge loss to us and the Dunbar community.

“While we are really upset to lose her as a valued team member, we are delighted she is looking after herself.

“She is very selfless.”