GP quits practice to make a sustainable doctor’s bag for women

As reported by The Times, a GP has given up her full-time job to create sustainable medical bags after becoming disillusioned with the NHS

Dr Catherine Fernando, 44, worked as a GP in East Lothian for 14 years before resigning and setting up her own business, Iyasu, which produces vegan medical bags for female healthcare workers.

Increasing numbers of GPs in Scotland have been leaving the profession for other opportunities in recent years due to a “vicious cycle” of increased workload and burnout, according to Dr Andrew Buist, chairman of the British Medical Association (BMA) Scottish GP committee.

Each of the Iyasu bags is named after a female doctor who made a significant contribution to medicine. The Patricia, above, is named for Dr Patricia Bath, an ophthalmologist who lived from 1942 to 2019

BMA Scotland warned the government earlier this year that its target of hiring 800 new GPs by 2027 was “desperately behind schedule”

Fernando decided to embark on her new venture after being frustrated by the “masculine nature” of the traditional Gladstone bag, which has been used by doctors to carry medical equipment since the end of the 19th century.

Iyasu, Japanese for “to heal”, makes six different models in various colours that are produced from recycled materials and vegan leather.

“These bags have been meticulously designed to address the specific challenges faced by medical professionals, allowing them to carry and organise their equipment with ease and efficiency,” Fernando said. “The goal is to empower healthcare providers and enhance patient care through innovative solutions.”

Similar to the Gladstone bag, the Iyasu bags open up to reveal many storage pockets for medical equipment

The medical bags cost between £275 and £340 and each model is named after a female medical pioneer including Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to qualify as a doctor in the United States in 1849, and Elsie Inglis, the first female Scottish doctor who qualified in 1892.

Fernando grew up in Comrie, Perthshire, and graduated from Aberdeen Medical School in 2001 before working at several infirmaries and hospitals in Stirling, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

After graduating, Fernando started working as a junior doctor. However, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma and underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy. She said the experience gave her a new view on life and she decided to follow her passion.

Increasing patient numbers and workload has led to a growing number of GPs leaving their profession in Scotland. In January Channel 4 News interviewed two GPs who quit the same medical practice in Edinburgh because patient numbers were “untenable”.

Dr Meryl Peat and Dr Hedley Philpott resigned from Danderhall Medical Practice after patient numbers soared by at least 50 per cent in the last six years. Philpott said: “My working day was so intense that I found that I couldn’t sustain that workload and so I informed the health board that I’d have to resign in order to maintain good health.”

A Scottish government spokesman said: “We have already delivered a record number of GPs working in Scotland, with more per head than any other country in the UK, and we are making good progress on our commitment to recruit at least 800 new GPs by 2027. Since 2017, Scotland’s GP headcount has increased by 291 to a record high of 5,209 in 2022.”