Blog Articles
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...
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...
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...
The Covid Diaries 2
Saturday 11th April 2020 Easter Saturday. The forecast is for a day of bright sunshine and above average temperatures for the time of year. A weekend when normally families would gather, friends would meet and hoards would head to the coast. A weekend for those with...
Re-naming: who are we?
"What's in a name? That which we call a roseby any other name would smell as sweet." Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2) I don’t know about you, but nowadays I am rubbish at remembering names. My neurosis reaches a critical point when at social gatherings I am expected to...
Recognising the need for help
David was my GP trainer, my course organiser, my mentor and my partner. I met him in 1998, was trained by him, and then became a Registrar in his practice. It seemed logical and part of life’s natural order that I should become his GP Partner and for ten years we...
Revisiting the basics of care
He was agitated, a tremor in his hands, his leg shaking, foot tapping. He wanted more Tramadol for his pain. Recent directives, figures from the USA and the desire here in the UK to avoid a similar opioid crisis crowded my mind. Sensationalist headlines about GPS as...
Realising: compassion for myself
This story is of a sensitive nature. We want to forewarn readers of this and offer links to sources of support for any of our readers who have suffered personally. www.rapecrisis.org.uk www.rasasc.org/ tel: 0800 028 8022 www.thesurvivorstrust.org/...
Relinquishing old fears
This story is of a sensitive nature. We want to forewarn readers of this and offer links to sources of support for any of our readers who have suffered personally. www.rapecrisis.org.uk www.rasasc.org/ tel: 0800 028 8022 www.thesurvivorstrust.org/...
Reassurance: the comfort of patients
I stopped dead in my tracks when he couldn’t lift his head off the pillow. The smile of greeting was the same but I knew something was very wrong at his inability to raise up to meet me. For a moment time stopped and I froze. Not now? This was quick. Oh no! The last...
Re-kindled memories – humanity at the end
She lay mostly silent and still, the occasional grimace the only indication of moments of intense pain and maybe fear. The freshly pressed, stark white bed sheet allowed little contrast against her cold skin; all colour had drained from her face and her arm...
Recollections: taking it all in
It was a cold, bleak Sunday in January. The trees were bare, the sky colourless and the ground had that bleached look it gets when it’s cold enough to see your own breath. A grey, tired landscape, devoid of colour after the Christmas holiday. Inside the ward was a...