It is with great sadness that I have to report the death of Dr Mabel Alli. Mabel died in December 2010 from the complications of a long-term illness. Mabel was the Director of the North West London Haemoglobinopathy Network, which is based in the Department of Public Health at Brent Primary Care Trust, and an Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Primary Care & Public Health at Imperial College. Through her work with the Haemoglobinopathy Network, Mabel made an important contribution to improving the care of people with sickle cell disease and thalassaemia. In her most recent project, Mabel was working with the NW London CLAHRC programme to develop a training programme in sickle cell disease for general practitioners in Brent PCT.
I decided to become a General Practitioner when I realised that a robust primary care system is essential in the development and functioning of any Community. As GPs, we are the first port of call of all illnesses, whether acute or chronic, and we must remain up to date at all times to ensure excellent care. With this in mind, I was determined to not just become a GP, but to explore the different opportunities available to us. This determination led me to have a taste of performing my medical duties in a wide variety of places: traditional GP surgeries, hospitals, prisons, walk-in centres, out of hours services, 111 telephone service, urgent care centres and private practice. These experiences have offered me valuable insight into what makes the fibres of our Community function and why some medical problems are significantly skewed in some ethnicities, social circles or economic groups. But gaining this rewarding knowledge and exposure would somehow be fickle if I were not able to s...

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