#59

Today was a day of leave to cover childcare. But, after yesterday’s beach trip and a need to prepare for a busy day of induction training for the newly qualified doctors, I had to get a couple of hours in to make sure things can run as smoothly as they can tomorrow.

The Naze beach looking out at the English Channel. Cloudless and warm. We had the place to ourselves for beach cricket.

I headed off on a dry and mild but windy morning thinking that if I did things right, it would only take an hour. Then we could hit the cinema in the afternoon after some school uniform shopping. I took a usual B2W route, along country lanes and then main roads followed by the river trail. No close passing and a nice young lady even gave way to me in the opposite direction to allow me to pass through a small road. I had right of way anyway but smiled and waved to acknowledge my thanks. The blank look on her face and a look over my shoulder revealed that she was really yielding to the Nissan Navara creeping up behind me.

I stopped to get custard and balloons to make abscesses for tomorrows incision and drainage session and arrived at work feeling awesome with the morning plan. I got the pig belly out to thaw, set up the cannulation training arm, cleared the simulation room and put 2 examination couches into the lecture theatre. And then I made the mistake of looking at my e-mails.

2 weeks ago, I was asked to purchase some PC headphones for some IT training for the new doctors-we don’t have enough heatsets for the number of doctors that we need to train. I was even given the details by one of the IT training managers of what specific ones to order. Except that to order them, they need to be added to the electronic ordering system which they weren’t. After chasing procurement for the last couple of weeks I got an answer that I could order sets that are 3x more expensive than the ones I requested OR order them (yep, you guessed it) from the IT dept. So I wasted another hour making calls, sending e-mails and searching Amazon to find what was needed. I could pay now and get reimbursed later.

After that hour where no adequate solution was found, I left happy in the knowledge that I work in an organisation with good caring non-clinical support, sound processes, great communication and exceptional fiscal control. The wind had got up pushing me sideways or back depending on my direction of travel. I struggled on the short route, keen to get back for the relative solitude of getting 1 teenager and 1 pre teen to try on school trousers.

Yesterday’s beach trip feels like a million years ago…