Retirement of Dr Dowling - 31st August 2025

We are writing to inform you that Dr Michael Dowling, one of the founding Partners of our practice, will be retiring on 31st August 2025.

Dr Dowling established the practice in August 2005, and his retirement marks an incredible milestone of 20 years of dedicated service to our patients and the wider community.

As a founding Partner, he has played a central role in shaping the values, direction, and high standards of care that define our practice today.

While we are sad to see Dr Dowling retire, we are also delighted that he will be able to enjoy a well-deserved retirement after so many years of service.

We are pleased to announce that we have successfully recruited Dr. Angus Macdonald as both a GP and Partner to replace Dr. Dowling. Dr. Macdonald will join the team on 1st September 2025.

He will work alongside Dr. Julia Bloemertz as partners at Neetside Practice.  

Angus has lived in the Bude area for over 20 yrs and was a partner at Stratton medical centre for much of that time. He says "times are tough for General Practice at the moment but by joining Neetside I am really looking forward to coming back to work with a team I have known for years and be at the heart of the Bude community"

Additionally, our current Paramedic, Spencer Ward—who many of our patients already know—will also become a Partner, forming a team of three partners. Spencer has been with us at Neetside for several years and is looking forward to taking on the next step in his career as a practice partner.

We are very excited about this development, as it strengthens the foundation for the future of the Surgery and ensures continuity of care for our patients.

If you are currently registered with Dr Dowling, your care will be automatically transferred to Dr Macdonald or Dr Bloemertz, and no action is required on your part.

On behalf of everyone at the practice, we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Dr Dowling for his outstanding contribution over the past 20 years and wish him all the very best for the future.

Yours sincerely,

Melanie Chenoweth

Practice manager and the partnership team.