Dr Malcolm Shearer (1923-2005) started the practice at Boreham in October 1954 initially in a house called The Laurels near the Six Bells. The village grew and the surgery moved to Averys on Church Road in 1959. As Dr Shearer retired, a purpose-built surgery was built in 1984 in Juniper Road and initially named New Averys. This building was extended and renamed The Laurels and it incorporates in the front wall the original name plate from the first surgery.
Meanwhile Dr Sidney Emerick (1920-1999) had started a practice in a bungalow in St Andrews Road, Hatfield Peverel. The practice was later housed in Springfield House which was knocked down to provide the main car park in the village. After a temporary residence in Maldon Road the first purpose-built surgery was constructed in Strutt Close and opened in 1979. This building was substantially enlarged in 1994 and renamed "Sidney House" in honour of Dr Emerick.
The EQUIP organisation which organises education and audit for primary care organisations in Essex was based on part of the first floor until 2005 when the practice reclaimed the space to house the enlarging primary care team.
Dr Nigel Towson joined the practice in 1976 and having made a large contribution to teaching of medical students and doctors preparing for general practice, retired from full time practice in 2005. Dr John Guy joined the practice in 1980, followed by Dr Les Brann in 1984 and Dr Lesley Guy in 1986. The practice expanded to take patients in North-East Chelmsford and South Witham and in 1994, Dr Jeremy Spurr was taken on as an additional partner to accommodate increasing demand.
Dr Simon Butcher joined the partnership in 2005 to replace Dr Nigel Towson upon his retirement, with Dr Angela Hore joining the partnership in 2010 to replace Dr Lesley Guy on her retirement, and Dr Wasim Siddiqui replacing Dr John Guy in the partnership, on his retirement in 2011.
Dr Tom Cunningham joined the partnership in 2013 upon the retirement of Dr Hore, and Dr Karen Hall became a full partner in 2014, having completed her training at the practice in 2013 and working as a salaried GP until then, following the retirement of Dr Les Brann. Dr Spurr retired from practice in June 2015 and Dr Butcher retired from the Partnership in September 2017.
From early on, the practice has been recognised for GP training and over 50 registrars, now referred to as GP Specialist Trainees, have spent up to eighteen months attached to the practice in the final part of their training.
Some 75 medical students have also spent time with the surgery learning about general practice.
The partners and staff have a long tradition of service outside of the practice. Dr Emerick was for many years chairman of the Family Practitioner Committee and Dr John Guy only retired as the clinical lead for EQUIP in 2015 despite his retirement from frontline primary care four years earlier, whilst Dr Brann was the chairperson of, or involved in local Primary Care Organisations for many years.
We continue to have significant commitments to the education of health care professionals including GP's nurses and medical students as well as to the delivery of quality primary care across Mid Essex. We believe that this is important and also benefits our patients. Our approach does however mean that on occasions individual doctors will not be in the practice on days you wish to be seen. We are confident that there are sufficient appointments and that your medical care will not suffer as a consequence of this approach.