GP who became 'overwhelmed' during pandemic stabbed herself to death with knife in woodland

An overworked GP who felt the ‘unbearable pressure of her job finally get to her’ stabbed herself to death in woodland, an inquest heard today.

Dr Gail Milligan died from massive blood loss after using a knife to inflict fatal stab wounds to her body.

The 47-year-old was found dead in Swinley Forest, near Crowthorne, Berkshire, on July 28 after her husband reported her missing when she disappeared after finishing work the night before.

During a police search for the mother the following day, her body was discovered by officers.

In a public online posting, her husband, Christopher, revealed that she had been severely overworked during the pandemic while based at the Camberley Health Centre in Surrey.

He wrote on Facebook that ‘the unbearable pressure of her job finally got to her’, adding: ‘We are in no doubt that the job made her ill.’

Mr Milligan originally shared the message in a Facebook group but it has since been widely shared on Twitter after he gave permission for it to be made public.

Dr Gail Milligan died from massive blood loss after using a knife to inflict fatal stab wounds to her body

Dr Milligan qualified at Manchester University in 1998 and trained as a GP in Reading before joining Camberley Health Centre in 2003

Opening the inquest in Reading coroner’s court, Assistant coroner Katy Thorne KC said: ‘It has been reported to us that Gail Milligan was born on August 19, 1974, and her regular address was Cutbush Lane West, Shinfield, Berskhire.

‘She died in Swinley Forest, Crowthorne and the circumstances were that Gail was a GP and she was reported by her husband as missing on July 27, late at night.

‘She had been at her surgery that day and she was found in Swinley Forest the following morning.

‘Police added that the death appeared not to be suspicious and the cause of death provided was massive blood loss, followed by a history of depression. Her identity was confirmed by police officers.

‘Because of the unnatural aspects of the death this case will be listed for an inquest at a date to be confirmed. I would like to record my condolences for the deceased’s friends and family at this time.’

Dr Milligan qualified at Manchester University in 1998 and trained as a GP in Reading before joining Camberley Health Centre in 2003.

Christopher Milligan said his wife’s suicide was not a cry for help, it was clearly the only way she could see her suffering stopping.

In a statement posted to Facebook, Mr Milligan said: ‘We are in no doubt that the job made her ill. Her job as a partner at a GP surgery became overwhelming. Especially during the pandemic.’

Mr Milligan originally shared the message in a Facebook group but it has since been widely shared on Twitter after he gave permission for it to be made public

Mr Milligan described how his wife was also in charge of human resources at the surgery and had received an email that hit her so hard she never recovered.

He continued: ‘She went into a deep, deep depression from the Monday to the Wednesday, when she took her life. 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. 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.

‘It’s such a sad waste of a wonderful, beautiful, funny and absolutely bananas wife, mother and doctor.

‘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 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 30 years this year. It was almost always lots of laughter and fun with huge amounts of p***-taking.

‘My boys have lost their mother, and I have lost my best friend.’

For confidential support, call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch. See www.samaritans.org for details

‘There just aren’t enough GPs to cope, and now there is one less’: The full heartbreaking post by Dr Gail Milligan’s husband

I’m afraid this post isn’t my usual diarrhoea and rubbish. Apologies. My wife died on Wednesday. She went missing for nearly 24 hours before a search and rescue dog team found her body in a forest. The unbearable pressure of her job finally got to her. For years she has been giving everything she had to other people in her professional life and private life too. She really was the best of us.

‘Her job as a partner at a GP surgery became overwhelming. Especially during the pandemic. She was seeing patients face-to-face the whole time, as well as the unbelievable amount of telephone consultations that were happening. She saw old people dying in care homes during the pandemic, and was working at the vaccine centres. She was responsible for the training of multiple GPs over the years, she was currently training three of them. She also worked with other medical organisations like the CCG and many others. All that, and her patients too.

‘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 6.45am and not get home until usually between 19.30 and 20.00. When she arrived at 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.

‘Last Sunday afternoon she opened an email that hit her so hard that she never recovered. She went into a deep, deep depression from the Monday to the Wednesday, when she took her life. 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. Her colleagues told her to take some time off on Wednesday afternoon, and to go home.

She never came home. Instead she drove to a forest, walked deep into it where she would be nearly impossible to find, and took her own life in the most violently shocking way. This was not a cry for help. This was clearly the only way she could see her suffering stopping. It’s been suggested that she suffered a psychotic episode. If you knew my wife, you’d know how far from normal any of this was for her. 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 own 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 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 p***-taking. My boys have lost their mother, and I have lost my best friend.

Sorry about this post. I would like to say that normal service will resume, but it won’t. I’m broken. And finally… an hour after I found that Gail was dead, I had to take our dog to be put to sleep. Aggressive cancer had torn through her at a terrific rate. She spent her last 24 hours cuddled up between two police officers on our sofa.

The police stayed with me from the time I reported my wife missing until the time they found her… And a bit longer too. I will be forever grateful to Thames Valley Police, and the team at Berkshire Lowland Search and Rescue, who were the team that found her. No wife. No mother to our boys. No dog. And I thought losing my dad a year ago was bad. What was I thinking? There just aren’t enough GPs to cope, and now there is one less.

<!—->