I am writing in response to the column by Dr Shaba Nabi in the August edition of Pulse titled ‘Reasons to be cheerful’. Here was another GP partner colleague denouncing the GP partnership model and singing the praises of a salaried position at the time that the profession is fighting against the odds to maintain the partnership model.
I am a GP partner with a list size of 9,000 and four young, motivated and enthusiastic partners in inner City Aberdeen, Scotland. Our workload is as high as that of any inner city practice across UK but we still manage it between the hours of 08.00 and 18.00 with good time management, well-functioning systems and an excellent management and admin team.
Despite eight sessions at the practice and an OOH session every week, I still manage to run twice every week, play badminton once a week, train in karate twice a week along with my kids and enjoy an evening meal with my teenage daughters every day. This despite being a single parent during the week – my better half is a consultant in Edinburgh.
Being a partner gives me the added satisfaction of being an employer and running a small business successfully besides providing stable clinical continuity to my patients. So folks , all I can say is don’t be put off by scaremongering.
