I don’t know what you think of improving patient online access, but the tranquillity of that particular session at Pulse Live was shattered by someone suggesting that the concept is located fairly and squarely in ‘cloud-cuckoo land’. Wow. Sadly, I had to leave at that point because I had a hot ticket for the Personal Development workshop, so I don’t know if it got really tasty.
Talking of tasty, WHERE ARE THE SODDING BISCUITS? I nearly went hypo en route to Personal Development, and was saved only by an unseemly lunge for some chocolate based freebies I sniffed out in the exhibition area.
Probably no coincidence, then, that the ‘How to survive general practice’ tips brainstormed in this excellent session were ingestion based: make sure you get lunch, keep some snacks in your top drawer, drink vatloads of alcohol and so on.
This workshop ended with the delegates completing the phrase ‘I’m a doctor, not a …’ Suggestions included doormat, housing officer, scapegoat, magician and, most memorably, ‘skip’.
I left, appropriately enough, feeling more resilient, and dived into the joys of the exhibition centre to continue my ‘has general practice turned the corner?’ vox pop survey. It isn’t going well. Some people say yes, some people say no, and a few say we’re on a slow bend leading to nowhere. And one called for security.
And still no biscuits, though I did find a stall handing out massive great plastic sperm. I think. Or maybe it’s the hypoglycaemia again.
Dr Tony Copperfield is a GP in Essex. You can follow him on Twitter @DocCopperfield.
