Sometimes, being a GP feels like something akin to being a Womble – that’s right, sometimes it seems that we are dealing with rubbish all day long!
But that’s not the only reason I feel an affinity to those inhabitants of Wimbledon Common that scurry around, diligently clearing up after others. Nor is it simply because one of those fury little creatures takes his name from the town in which I live. And no, I do not live in Tomsk and, though I may be a little on the short side (5’4” thank you for asking), neither am I particularly hirsute. My Wombleness is much more layered than that.
‘People don’t notice us, they never see.
Under their noses a GP might be
We GP by night and we GP by day
Looking for ways to take problems away.’
Furthermore we all sometimes find ourselves having to dance. But even though the one on which we are led may seem a merry one, it is a dance that we are accompanied by nothing as delightful as the Minuetto Allegretto. Instead we are encouraged to quick step to the cacophony of sound that emanates from NHS England and the media, and to waltz to the unearthly din generated by the government, QoF and the appraisal process.
‘Oh slave now like your partners
Young GP’s were told
With satisfact’ry colleague feedback
You will work ‘till you’re old’
Unless of course you burnout young.
More positively though, like Wombles, GPs are organised, work as a team. GPs are tidy and’, for the most part at least, ‘GPs are clean’. Furthermore we are ‘so incredibly utterly devious’, that lesser known Womble characteristic that enables us to make good use of the things that we find, irrespective of how limited those resources that we come across actually are. Just as it is with Wombles, so it is with we GPs – our communities would be a lot messier without us. Our work is hugely valuable and, though our efforts may not be valued by some, most of our patients, really do appreciate all that we do.
So…
When the sun doesn’t shine and it’s cloudy and gray
And it’s only the beginning of the GP-ing day
And the CQC inspectors say that they’re on their way
…
When the phones are going crazy and you just can’t see
How you will even find the time to drink a cup of tea
And every patient says that you must see them urgently
…
When the newspapers are saying things that just aren’t true
And everyone is laying blame for everything on you
And they’re telling you exactly what it is you’ve got to do…
Remember, remember, remember, remember Remember, remember, remember (member, member, member)
(Altogether now)
Remember you’re a GP (Remember you’re a GP) Remember you’re a GP (Remember you’re a GP) Remember you’re a GP (Remember you’re a GP) Remember you’re a GP (Remember you’re a GP)
Remember, member, member, what a GP, GP, GP, you are.
And remember too just how loveable and cuddly you really are!
And with that, like Orinoco, I’m off to get an extra 40 winks!
To read ‘A Hard Year for Us All’, click here
Some musings 