Lauren Phillips: Volunteers search stretch of coastline for missing junior doctor
VOLUNTEERS were today searching a stretch of coastline in the hunt for missing junior doctor Lauren Phillips.
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Dr Phillips, 26, vanished after growing "increasingly distressed" with the state of the NHS.
She failed to turn up to work in the A&E department at Bristol's Southmead Hospital on Sunday February 26.
Her car was found more than 100 miles away in the North Devon seaside resort of Woolacombe.
Searches have been carried out by police, coastguard officers and lifeboat crews.
Volunteer mountain rescue teams have also been drafted in from local areas including Dartmoor.
Police hope surfers and ramblers may hold vital clues.
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She makes sure everything is OK and stays three hours late to get everything done
Dr Phillips, who was also a violinist with the Bristol Symphony Orchestra, qualified as a junior doctor two and a half years ago, in the summer of 2014.
During her foundation year she worked at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust.
Dr Phillips wrote a series of Facebook posts attacking Jeremy Hunt and changes to the junior doctors' contracts.
She joined pickets protesting against the measures in January last year.
One of her former colleagues, who wanted to remain anonymous, described her as "a very sweet doctor"..
He said: "She makes sure everything is OK and stays three hours late to get everything done.
"She works crazily hard. On Facebook she was getting increasingly depressed with the state of the NHS."
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He said she had ambitions to become an anaesthetist, or work in critical care.
Dr Phillips, who lives in Bristol, is described as white, 5ft 5ins tall, of slim build with brown eyes.
She has long dark brown hair which is usually straightened but which is naturally curly.
It is thought she may be wearing a dark brown waxed cotton mid-length coat with cream wool-lined hood and a long cream woollen cardigan which has orange and blue detail.
She could also be wearing Converse trainers along with cream gloves with pink hearts on and a beige woollen hat which has a purple flower on the side.
Detective Inspector Mark Langdon, of Avon and Somerset Police, said: "As Lauren's car was found in Woolacombe our focus has been on the north Devon area and so we're directing our appeal at any surfers or ramblers who may have passed through the area in the past fortnight.
"Lauren hasn't been seen for some days now and we're growing increasingly concerned.
"We really need the public's help in finding her.
"We're particularly keen for bed and breakfast owners or hoteliers in and around the Woolacombe area to check whether she has booked in with them."
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The North Bristol NHS Trust, which runs Southmead Hospital, urged anyone with information to contact police.
A spokeswoman said: "Lauren is a valued member of our team and we are supporting the police in their efforts to find her.
"We urge anyone who has any information about Lauren to contact the police."