“Roll on 2008, it can only get better!”

That is what I said at the end of my last blog – I should know better by now, because so far it hasn’t (got better I mean)!

The surgery has been inflicted with the many bugs doing the rounds in the last couple of weeks, and having succumbed to two at once I haven’t actually worked much since my last blog.

In common, I suspect, with the majority of you, I usually drag myself in no matter what. However, this time I felt the bugs were just too nasty to risk spreading even further – and I felt I owed it to myself to actually be better before I attempted working.

Several other staff have been unwell, but not a major catastrophe – so far! There have been more computer problems, but they seem to have been addressed by the staff using the proper procedures – so we/I have obviously done something right.

Planning is now underway for the “staff away day”. A bit of a misnomer, as it happens in the practice and takes an afternoon, but you know what I mean!

On this occasion, we close for most of the afternoon and have a doctor available for urgent calls. Then the partners return and each do a mini-surgery at the end of the day.

We have lunch first – never undertake a serious meeting without feeding everyone! – then proceed with the afternoon.

A major topic this year will be introducing the likely scenarios for extended hours and how we might propose to provide them. This is supposing that providing them will be imposed upon us, which I feel is very likely going to be the case.

As you can imagine, the normal piles on the desk are even higher than usual following a spell out, so a shorter blog this time. Next one I will report on what was gained from the Away Day.

Do you have away days? How do you run them? I would love to know, please share what you do.

Until next time …