Medicine, Faith and the Wider World. Reflections from the NHS Frontline.

I haven't written for a long time. Early on in the pandemic I was so full of the emotions that it generated, that I needed to write to get them out. Later, I became exhausted and run down, and had no room left to write. The energy of living each day; working as a doctor;… Continue reading Post-pandemic Blues? →

Since 2009, the government has reduced spending on the health service[1][i]. There is talk of bringing in more health professionals and resources, but we are still lacking, and often vacancies can’t be filled for which there are funds. There have also been concerns that when medical students are trained, they will go abroad and not… Continue reading Is it time to rethink Medical School selection? A GP Mum and Daughter’s Perspective. →

I grab on, pulling myself up, The whirling tide of emotions and fears swirl around me, tugging at my clothes, Trying to unsettle me. Yet, I hold on and start to climb. The tower of words stretches above me, An anchor in the storm. As I climb I see the waters of fear and self-doubt… Continue reading Words →

Will we rush out like people in rain starved countries at a sudden downpour? Dancing and spinning with imaginary raindrops glistening and shining on us, Whole universes captured in a moment of time Rainbow colours glistening, Memories of drawings in windows and shy faces peering round them, Or will we creep out slowly, Hair long,… Continue reading The End of Lockdown? →

Somehow, the feared overwhelming of services, Body's lining up in the streets, Queues of people waiting to see the doctor, Didn't quite happen. And yet, life will never quite be the same again. The New Normal Means: Not seeing the doctor without a phone call first; Not being able to show them your face again;… Continue reading The New Normal →

The corridors seem eerily quiet, but with a sense of expectation and fear around them. People walk past, putting on a brave face. Some are excited and interested in the whole affair. Some look nervous and uncertain. We do a new kind of dance around each other, wanting to interact, yet keeping the obligatory 2m… Continue reading The Calm Before the Storm →

For those of us who wanted to stay in the EU, this is not a happy time. We really hope you are right and that this will be good for our country, but I cannot see it. I strongly believe that we should be broadening our horizons and looking for the good of all humanity… Continue reading We are Grieving →

Medicine is stressful, there’s no getting past that. As doctors we juggle complex emotions each day (our own and our patient’s) make snap second decisions that are potentially the difference between life and death; suffering and healing; a life weighed down by trauma and guilt, or a way forward to hope. We have little time… Continue reading Medicine is Stressful →

I can see it in your eyes, The Fear, Where will this cancer take me? Will I die? Is this all life has to offer me? How can I tell my children? I cannot really understand how it is for you, But I see glimmers, stretching from your soul to mine, Echoes in things from… Continue reading Fear →

The Friends of our youth are important to us. On an overcast day in May I returned with my mother to Croydon; Old buildings made new And others just torn down. Cosmopolitan Croydon where possibly eighty languages or more are spoken. Young people laughing and moving, The older ones watching and contemplating. Today we travelling… Continue reading The Friends of Our Youth →