Westport GP returns after 10 years in NHS to serve Mayo community

There was very welcome news in Lahardane this week as Westport woman, Dr Jenny Timms, joined the Nephin Medical Centre team.

Dr Timms, who moved back to Mayo three years ago, began her first day at the practice on Friday last, attracted by the opportunity to provide a more personal service than the large city practices she was accustomed to in England.

“I absolutely much prefer the one to one contact,” Dr Timms explained. “What I’m looking forward to in Lahardane is hopefully a bit more continuity of care than we would have in the UK, and getting to know people, their families, and the different generations that come through the door. I really like that bit.”

She comes from a well-known local family in Westport – her brother Louis Mulloy recently won a world championship for sailing alongside their cousin Marcus, while her sister Joan is also an accomplished offshore single-handed sailor. Her mother, Linda Mulloy, is a stained glass artist who founded The Glasshouse in Westport and her stepfather Michael Mulloy would have had the hardware shop on Shop Street.

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She studied neuroscience at UCC before training in medicine at the University of Nottingham. She worked as a GP along the south coast of England, including London and Brighton, specialising in acute care and working in A&E settings.
Dr Timms decision to return to Ireland was prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic, during which she worked in Hot Hubs set up across the UK for treating Covid patients.

“I think as a society, we kind of re-analysed our life choices a little bit, didn’t we?” she reflected. “I decided to return home basically as soon as I could.”

Community support
After initially working for a pharmaceutical company upon her return, Dr Timms has now come back into clinical practice, choosing Nephin Medical Centre in part because of the community’s strong support for keeping the practice open.

“That was actually one of the things that attracted me to this practice,” she said. “Dr Amjed is a great guy, really committed to the place and providing a really good service for the community here.”

Dr Timms noted that she has observed a growing trend of medical professionals returning from the UK to Ireland, driven by quality of life considerations.

“I think the quality of life that you get here in the west of Ireland – I think lots of people got a bit fed up living in cities and the kind of life that that gives you,” she explained. “I have a daughter, and I am delighted she’s in school in Westport and growing up in Westport, because it’s just a kind of freer place to be.”

The Lahardane community were delighted in February 2024 to have the Nephin Medical Centre back opening to the public. Pic: Conor McKeown

The medical centre in Lahardane, which reopened following a successful community campaign in February 2024, serves over 1,000 medical card patients in the area. Dr Timms and Dr Amjed, who owns the practice, are currently sharing the patient list, with the practice offering patients greater choice in their care.

“The reception here has been great,” Dr Timms said of her first day. “People are so friendly at the Nephin Medical Centre. In the NHS it’s just a lot bigger and busier. Here, people just have more time.”