I read about a GP that did something to his list recently. I think he closed it in order to safeguard his sanity and the health of his current patients. From what I remember the response from the media and the public has been nothing but positive and his current patients are all extremely relieved their care will not be jeopardised in the future.
Alright – that GP was me. But – and I know this sounds crazy – there’s been a big black SUV following me around on home visits since the media furore yesterday. I can see two men in sunglasses sitting in the front.
Maybe it’s following me. But maybe I’m just paranoid.
Since I informally closed my list there hasn’t been much of a response from NHS England so far other than a curt email asking if the news was true and we had closed our list. I replied no, and that they were informally closed, and sent them the relevant regulations that were in the BMA document ‘Quality first: Managing workload to deliver safe patient care’. They haven’t been back to us since.
I was feeling a bit lonely having stuck my head above the parapet until the move was covered in the press. Then GPs across the country sent messages of support on Twitter. It was all rather heart-warming.
Hold on, there’s a call from reception. Apparently there are two men in suits to see me. Oh dear, this doesn’t bode well.
I hear their footsteps coming up the corridor. The door opens and in they walk.
They introduce themselves as Agent Richard Vautrey and Agent Tom Black – and it turns out they are actually from the BMA.
We talk in hushed tones about what must follow this informal list closure. They advise an informal list closure declaration is legally watertight but should really be followed by an application for formal closure – a belt and braces approach. Then they leave as suddenly as they arrived. I get the feeling I’m not going to be alone in this for much longer.
Dr Hadrian Moss is a GP in Kettering, Northamptonshire. You can tweet him at @DrHMoss.
