The practice quickly got back to normal after the shenanigans caused by ‘the powers that be’. Hilary Allan became a partner and, given that she was an excellent GP, she became a great asset to the practice.

We were backed by a splendid team – and the practice nurses, as ever, were the backbone of the service we provided. We allowed ourselves the indulgence of recording a ‘jingle’ to celebrate the new era … click here to have a listen to ‘the monk’s choir’.

Hilary and I started writing an advice column … which set a trend for the future.

The great majority of our patients were very supportive – which created a nice working atmosphere. Rather than and ‘us and them’ situation, there was a feeling that we were all on the same side, working together towards a common goal From time to time I recorded patients when I (and they) felt they had something useful to say. Jumping forward in time somewhat, here is a short video starring ‘Jean’. This was made when she was 78 years old … but looked much younger. The emphasis these days is on ‘healthspan’ rather than ‘lifespan’ … as there’s not much point living to be 90 if your quality of life in the last 20 or so years is very poor. Jean’s secret of staying young and fit was following the usual ‘healthy living’ advice with regard to diet and exercise etc … BUT the interesting twist was that, to keep fit, she opted for dancing, putting in a lot of hours! Given that this is a pleasant way of exercising (and simultaneously enjoying a good social life) this clearly worked well for her. She wasn’t the only patient who benefitted enormously from dancing at an advanced age – and those who did all seemed to have a spring in their step. If I didn’t have two left feet I’d follow their example!

Here’s what Jean had to say on the subject of ‘dancing for fitness’ … and here’s a word about the use of these recordings.

We weren’t perfect – far from it – partly due to the constraints imposed by the NHS. That wasn’t the whole story though. One example – I was called to the house of a very pleasant Mum who had elected to have a home delivery. She made the mistake of (a) deciding to have the baby during Wimbledon fortnight and (b) leaving the TV on in the bedroom. This was at a time when British players rarely made it through to the 2nd week … and Jeremy Bates, much to everybody’s surprise, was doing rather better than expected. The ‘delivery team’ (midwives etc) assembled in the bedroom at rather a tense moment in the match and duly gathered around the TV. Fortunately this was a Mum who had done it all before … and the team were there for her when it was needed … but an independent report on our overall performance would have concluded: “Could do better.”

As for healthcare in the town as a whole, it had grown up in an unstructured manner given that it was always ‘the Cinderella service.’ Essex County Council had constructed the town with a provision for all the basic services … except healthcare (for which there was no clear plan and absolutely no funding.) So the practices were set up randomly … dotted around the town … but, strangely, this worked rather well as most patients could get to their GP surgery on foot. The smallish size of the practices meant that there was a personal service – ‘continuity of care’ was the norm – and patients were often on first name terms with the staff. I used to ask patients who’d moved into SWF who their previous GP was and, all too often, the answer was: “I’ve no idea – I never saw the same one twice!”

Rather late in the day ECC came up with a ‘vision’ for a town centre health hub (currently in tatters) and residences for the elderly were set up nearby so even those with walking aids could get to see their GP under their own steam.

Those responsible for funding always took the view that SWF residents were too young, fit, and well off to have much need for the NHS … so the service was funded accordingly. Even so, we’d come a long way since the time when patients were seen in ‘the tin chapel‘

Dr John Cormack