What’s special about being a +Grassroots GP?
What a privilege it is to be my
patients’ first professional port of call for just about any health
concern. Working, and sometimes living,
in the same community, there can be a powerful sense of working together to
restore health. Intervening in a health
crisis, whether it be supporting them through an episode of depression or
admitting them with appendicitis, can be profoundly rewarding. However, demedicalising their condition and
providing reassurance instead of intervening, where appropriate, has the potential
to benefit not only the patient in front of me but also, by conserving
resources, my surgery’s other 5,000 patients.
This will resonate with every
GP. What could be more
rewarding! This is the essence of
grassroots general practice.
I started using Twitter a couple
of years ago. My intention was simply to
“lurk” and follow current affairs.
Before long, however, I found myself following and interacting with medical
colleagues and others interested in health policy. Indeed, it is difficult to know how I might
otherwise have made contact with colleagues of every grade, whether fellow
grassroots GPs or more eminent.
As such, a group of us got
together. Some of the values we share
are set out on our website at Grassrootsgp.org/values. Within the industry that healthcare now is, we aim to give voice to
grassroots GPs. Specialists, drug and
other manufacturers, academics, political parties and charities are undoubtedly
all vital. Unfettered by the pragmatism
of generalists in daily contact with patients, however, health anxiety will
continue to escalate and the health economy to overheat at the expense of the
sick.
Our royal college is enriched by
the wisdom of many senior GPs. We
certainly need them. However, we believe
that the views of grassroots RCGP members also need to be well
represented. I was delighted to read of
Chair-Elect Maureen Baker’s aspiration for RCGP Council to be more
accessible. I believe having more
grassroots GPs on Council and making better use of digital social media such as
Twitter will help.
To this end, six of our group of
Grassroots GPs (Martin Brunet, myself, +Pete Deveson, +Margaret Mccartney, Stuart
Sutton and Jonathan Tomlinson) stood for election to RCGP Council. Voting has now closed but I do hope we will
have more grassroots representation as a result of your votes. [Update: I'm delighted to say that Margaret was elected]
Day in the Life: Dr John Cosgrove, Grassroots GP
My day job will be
much like that of grassroots GPs up and down the country, facing pressures which
seem to grow day by day, dealing with the expectations generated by those who
seem to know our job better than we do.
However, more than matching any frustrations is the richness and variety
of interactions, not only with patients, but with trainees and colleagues both
locally and at other sites.
I recently joined +Midlands Medical Partnership (MMP), composed of 33 partners across 10 sites across
Birmingham, with over 60,000 patients.
By grouping in this way, we believe we can meet the threats GPs and
their patients face and make the most of opportunities in this Brave New World,
while preserving the best of GP-led primary care and grassroots values to the
benefit of our patients. If you think
your practice would fit well into this evolving organisation, do get in touch!
Ever since I
qualified and joined RCGP eight years ago, I have been an officer of +Thames Valley Faculty RCGP (where I lived and worked until last year), representing the views
and interests of grassroots GPs across that region. I like to think that our faculty and board
are now at least as accessible as ever.
On a personal level, I have found this involvement richly rewarding (if
not financially!). I know local faculty
offices would be delighted to hear from any member interested in getting involved,
so do get in touch!
In my down time, I
am wont to pick up my smartphone and tweet.
I rarely have a set agenda on Twitter.
Indeed, some days the mood will not take me. However, sometimes the temptation to
interact, 140 characters at a time, is irresistible. Mostly, but not always, the topic is primary
care. Of course, there is a limit to
what is appropriate to post in such a public forum. For those seeking guidance in this area, the
RCGP Social Media Highway Code written by Ben Riley and Clare Gerada, is well
worth a read. That having been said, like
minded souls on Twitter can be a valuable connection. “Follow” me at @DrJohnCosgrove!
