Manor Field Surgery, Maltby – the first blog.

It is raining, heavily; there doesn’t seem much else to do on a Saturday morning in July, here is the first blog.

It is always difficult to know where to start.

Perhaps an explanation of what I am doing and where I see this heading.

We all know that the NHS, heck, society, is going-through change. (When things stop changing, that is when you need to worry!)

With the publication of the NHS Long-Term Plan in January, NHS England signalled that they were open for business to try things differently. The document acknowledged the challenges now and ahead.

I read it as, ‘We don’t know what to do, let’s do something, anything, to keep the NHS going!’

My personal interpretation was to create the new role of primary care consultant – doing what I normally do, that is, review, investigate, treat and support older people, cutting-out the middle-man that exists everywhere else (that is, the hospital or other big NHS provider).

It is just me and the patients (and our little team of amazing staff at the surgery in Maltby) – doing what we can to make a difference.

The experience so far has been stunning.

I have felt for the first time in a very long time, able to connect with my patients, to understand their challenges and… help.

These are just the first steps.

The care home I support has allowed me to see residential and nursing care in a new light, the homes of patients I visit a new understanding of what it is to be an older person in 21^st Century Britain.

The future?

I see that despite the wonders that take place in big hospitals, much of what is needed by patients and people across society cannot be delivered inside the walls and congested car-parking spaces of these institutions. We need to be outside – the doctors, nurses, therapists and pharmacists have to come to the patients.

It is not about taking us further away – limiting access, but understanding the needs of our patients and our community, focusing on independence, guidance, support and autonomy.

More will follow.

Enjoy the rain folks.