Picture the scene...I am cyling out of BMA house

Picture the scene...I am cycling out of BMA house.....a Policeman tells me I cant cycle there and I should get off ....." You f***ing pl**, you dont run the  f***ing health service ....get out of my f***ing way" is my considered response.
The policeman 
a) accepts my apology despite me -possibly- not being entirely truthful about what I said despite the recorded evidence
b) throws the book at me for verbally assaulting a police officer 
c) mistakes me for Dawn French, finds the whole thing hilarious and asks for my autograph.

Frankly I think c) is the most likely. 

Surely a police caution was not beyond the realms of possibility here. Or is it me ? The issue is honesty , integrity and fairness. The whole sorry tale shows a distinct shortage of all three.

Luckily I do not cycle. Too dangerous in the bylanes of Peaky Practice where tractors roam wildly over the roads and at any time one can be startled by sheep.  Maybe Mr Mitchell's behaviour was a cry for help to relocate to Ruralshire where thanks to him there is no public transport, petrol is so expensive one considers driving a  Skoda Citogo  and cycling is therefore to be encouraged.

YES Campaign? What will it really mean.

There has been much angst in Peaky Practice about the health changes on both sides of the border. What could the implications really be?
Some 20,000 patients resident in England are registered with a GP in Wales and 15 000 Welsh residents are registered with a GP in England. 54,000 Welsh patients cross the border for treatment in English hospitals and 200,000 outpatient appointments in England are for Welsh patients.
So, enough statistics. How will the changes in the NHS in England and Wales affect this? Peaky practice has heard from several sources that WAG is planning an impenetrable wall along the Borders. English residents used to walking 500 yards to their Welsh GP practice may face a 10 mile drive to the nearest English practice. People with an acute medical problem may now have to travel 50 miles to the nearest Welsh hospital rather than 20 miles to the closest hospital in England.
So why are the people this affects being kept in the dark? A short google session tells me what a big problem this will be , yet a loud silence.
Awaiting extradition to Wales to face charges of sharing information ......
Peaky L'Assange

Anonymity......

Life as a rural GP sometimes feels like life in a goldfish bowl. To be honest, life for anyone in a rural community is pretty fair game for comment by anyone to everyone at any time. For example, a few years ago I went to an 80's night fund raiser for a local school dressed as Siouxie Siou of Banshees fame. Torn Fishnets, black DM's , three pencils worth of kohl, back-combed hair and a bin bag. Hidden by my new persona I danced like a demon all night, had a brilliant time and then taxi'd everyone home.

The Lovely Siouxsie

Monday morning surgery.
MR X, review appointment, 10 am
" Morning Doc, I saw you on Saturday night, you looked like you'd had a right skinful" (assume reference to my fancy dress and strange dancing)

ME (few remnants of Kohl round eyes)
"Actually I was driving on Saturday night Mr X, that's what I'm like when I am sober!"
I can't remember if I have seen him since!



Although I can now see the funny side it does illustrate what it feels like living and working in a small community. It's a well stocked minefield. At what point does looking as if you are pissed at a party , or even getting pissed at a party where everyone is registered at your practice constitute unprofessional behaviour?
The GMC guidance advises doctors to maintain professional boundaries, and yet as the nearest practices to us are 25 miles away all my friends are patients. Am I allowed to fall out with people? Can I tell them to fuck off  without being referred to the GMC?

"You must not express to your patients your personal beliefs, including political, religious or moral beliefs, in ways that exploit their vulnerability or that are likely to cause them distress"
Does this include posting that I am an atheist on facebook or commenting that Tony Blair should be tried for war crimes? I have stopped posting anything other than Jam recipes and updates on the dog since a patient messaged me to say that they found my comment regarding The Pope, Africa and condoms offensive.

However I survive, both professionally and personally. In fact I choose my friends very carefully, join a book group out of my practice area  and get pissed in private- largely! As for my political and religeous views, I now hide them in the medical blogosphere, shielded in part.

Happy Blogday

So today is the first day of my blogging life. Like so many cybertrends before it I wonder how long I'll last and wonder if I will still twitter and facebook. Started the day at an ARCP panel for GP registrars. This is a kind of review process for learning that trainee GP's have done. The people at the Deanery are surprisingly human and nice and give me free reign over a box of Heroes to help maintain my attention span. Good to see how other registrars are faring compared to the ones in Peaky Practice.  The day only gets better as I meet A New Kind of GP for a champagne lunch ( there is a big 0 birthday looming for one of us) and sense the irony that this is exactly what politicians think GP's do all day anyway. ( It is actually my day off, dont panic) Luckily I manage to find the correct bus afterwards and make it home for a nap.