Column

Stop the world - I want to retire!

Life on the front line of health care is beginning to take its toll on Rosa Hudson

We have just had to close our patients list because two partners have left. A third left last Christmas. Applicants for jobs in general practice — certainly for jobs in inner city practices — are few and far between.

We are bulging out of our health centre, with two portacabins already attached, and maybe this is the time to face up to the fact that we can’t save the world, or even a small number of people in Liverpool.

Representatives from the FHSA and the regional health authority came the other day to discuss the possibility of us buying the health centre, because we want to develop it. We had to point out that as we can’t get anyone to work here as it is, we are unlikely to persuade prospective partners to buy into a run-down 1970s box-like building which is constantly burgled.

The visitors seemed to ‘take this on board’ and have gone off with our £800,000 extension plan to see what they can do... dream on!

We have just missed the 80 per cent cervical smear target by 14 women. On Friday when I heard this news my surgery included five women who had been sexually abused, two nuns from Mexico and a depressed missionary from the church round the corner. In the event my desire to meet the needs of my patients was stronger than my desire to meet the target.

Trying to do the best for people and thinking of ways to circumvent fundholding has finally got me directly involved with neighbourhood planning. Since January I have been visiting stressed GPs and meeting with stressed nurses. One GP said: ‘I just want to live my life.’

The recent TV images of prospective fundholder Will in Peak Practice hugging his laptop at midnight while his marriage collapsed around him hit the nail on the head. I took on the job of GP neighbourhood planning rep because I believe this is a possible way forward, but in a climate of health authority spending cuts any immediate gains can only be minimal.

The extra work has me glued to my word-processor in the evenings only to be woken at 5.30am by a lively three-year-old. I firmly believe that it is possible to plan health care in a way which puts primary care centre stage, but I’m not sure how to get there.

I love general practice and I love Toxteth, but early retirement is starting to look good too.