Blog Articles
Recognising the dangers of a depleted system
I’m scared. What I’ve seen play out before me over the last few weeks scares me as much, if not more than the...
Recognising Patient Fears
She’d sat and waited for nearly four hours by the time it was her turn to be called through. It was late one Friday...
Reconceiving the metaphor of ‘magic’ hospital curtains
I sleep with the window open, although the light, or darkness, outside is all but hidden by the blind that drapes the...
Recognising those who inspired us to be who we are
I can’t believe that we are only a few days away from the first year anniversary of the first confirmed COVID-19 case in the UK. 31st January 2020. It almost seems surreal looking back over the last twelve months to think that this time last year none of us really had...
Re-evaluating the power of touch
The conversation was not one I was unfamiliar with. Discussing a serious diagnosis, a worrying test result, or a life limiting prognosis is something I have been doing on probably a weekly basis for years. This conversation was no different; the recipe that guides me...
Remembering that kindness works both ways
When my husband was called up urgently in the evening by a consultant haematologist to come into the acute assessment unit at the local hospital, on the same day as he had had a routine blood test at the GP practice, this was never going to be ‘normal’. My husband...
Regretfully falling between the cracks.
I first met Karen in 2018. She came in to consult about a possible chest infection, and I went on to discover that ten months after undergoing surgery for breast cancer she was apparently still waiting for her chemotherapy to start. She wasn’t one to complain...
Remarking on the igglepiggle moments
Eight years ago I wrote about the ‘Igglepiggle moments’ of my clinical practice. The quick fixes in paediatric ED that punctuate my week and lighten the load, reminding me why I love my job, grounding me in what really matters. I was reminded again this week of my...
Re-filling the tank
I’m on count down. Annual leave minus 10 days. If all goes to plan (no local lockdown!) I’ll be going away; an escape to the country, to the coast; a relatively unpopulated area that I’ve spent a couple of weeks exploring most summers for the last few years. A...
Recalculating the cost of lockdown
My job is not any easier. There was talk that when the lockdown ended A&E would not go back to how it used to be. We had hoped it would be less manic, with an increase in staffing levels, enabling us to provide better and more timely care. The preceding...
The Covid Diaries 11
Saturday 13th June 2020 : Reality Check This week I’d quite like to get off the rollercoaster we’ve all been travelling over the last 16 weeks. I’ve had enough. I feel like my positivity has run out, the flame of hope extinguished, my ability to keep going faded away....
The Covid Diaries 9
Saturday 30th May 2020 Today's Covid diary is a short film exploring the impact of lockdown on a range of young people. https://youtu.be/adshHGGuTQc