Following the presentations in London last week, this week was Manchester. I had been invited to join the British Surgeons Uro Gyny BSUG. research meeting. Slightly panicked that I did not know a thing about the research team. Why I was required, what I could contribute, nor any of the acronyms. What on earth is a CSG?

One of the Manchester surgeons who I had met at NICE had asked me. She is the epitomy of empathy and practicality. Not least repeating the mantra:The biggest decision is not to operate. Her Corona bottled beer drinking when last we had met further impressed me!

The train up was practically empty. Corona-virus or not, travelling is certainly easy at the moment. The hospital seemed immense, airport-like big atrium, shops and confuzzling signage. eventually I worked out where we were meeting. A seminar room, off a real life ward. It’s very weird being on the ‘other side’. I’m usually IN the ward . I was so warmly greeted, there was an attempt to obey strictures not to shake hands . Surgeons felt it was hugs, fist bumps and even a toe bumping surgeon. Despite the Corona pods being signposted clearly we were to relax. We talked, we thought, we recommended, we met trainees, we met other surgeons. One of whom had in fact seen me a few years ago. Obviously she did not recognise the research person me, it was bladder me last time we had met! Oops. The wide ranging ideas were remarkable, I understood most of it and contributed a tiny bit. The ideas I liked involved technology sharing with patients, of all ages I urged. Citing my ipad weilding parents. Consent for surgery, my particular bugbear, was another topic. Especially involve the carers of the elderly, I implored. They maybe need a voice too. There were some amazingly complex surgical problems which I tried hard to understand. There were some very important patient stories told. I was so impressed.

Then back to my train. Well not. I got there to find that was cancelled and so two trainloads combined onto one. Nightmare no room, no seats, corona prevention impossible. Some,of us got into first class. We were offered and accepted gin to ward off the virus. We have survived to tell the tale.

Meanwhile various strange emails were arriving from our gp surgery. Some missed calls from “unknown” too. Eventually Saintly GP spoke to me.. he was, he explained testing his emergency plan for the group of surgeries. They intend to email out results and speak to rather than see patients, in the event of the corona lock down. “ I could not think of any other patient who would cope with the testing,so it was you that got all the tests” he said. He even wanted to be sure I was ok and stocked up with all the medsI might need .

NHS at its very best, calmly facing the impending crisis. We can cope. Although in my innocence I added loo rolls to my Ocado delivery list. I couldn’t understand why every single type was ‘out of stock’.
My children tell me there is a panic buying of them. Oh?!

So I’ve added to the crisis by sourcing them on Amazon. Err…This is nuts.