Happy New Year to you all – I hope you had a good break (even if it was only the bank holidays).

After a busy few days in between Christmas and New Year, and organising our last Covid vaccination clinic for the weekend, I returned to work hoping that generally people would have enjoyed their Christmas and be relatively relaxed… Unfortunately, my dream was shattered that first day back by several complaints, mostly about the fact that we had the nerve to close on the bank holidays, and one from a man who was unable to see a doctor for chapped lips!

I have to admit, my first thoughts about that chap were extremely uncharitable… but I was covering reception because of staff shortages, so I had the good fortune to have a discussion with him and prove to myself that I could be better than that. I was literally biting my tongue – what I wanted to say, and what I could say were obviously two different things. I probably should have won an award for ‘most empathetic discussion of the management of chapped lips’ and for gently explaining how, on balance, using a GP appointment was probably not the best first-line option for him.  

It did get me thinking, though, that we very often sail close to the wind with what we say and do – and how we can get ourselves and our practices into trouble. This is generally more around our staff, rather than our patients – we all know how difficult some patients can be and we ‘manage’ them accordingly, but do we do the same with our staff?  

I’m very active on social media and see lots of posts from PMs, assistant PMs and business managers – and it’s great that we have created a ‘safe space’ where people can ask a question and not feel daft for posting it. It’s also great that we have an opportunity to just vent our spleen and state our ‘not-so-PC’ responses, because that does actually make us feel better. Some of the gifs and memes are just perfect for how we’re feeling! However, I definitely need to remind myself every now and again to put the brakes on and not give a ‘knee-jerk’ response that could land me in trouble.  

I remember many (many) years ago, as a fairly new-in-post Practice Manager, whilst intervening in a full blown argument between colleagues, in a moment of utter frustration I said something that, in hindsight, I shouldn’t have said (and I remember this like it was yesterday because it ended up being so traumatic). Now, the detail of the argument is irrelevant, but what I said isn’t.  

It was on the face of it, a fairly innocuous statement and said in the heat of the moment, but following legal advice, the employee took the surgery towards a tribunal. We ended up spending a few thousand pounds on legal advice and managed to settle, but that single sentence was the cause, not only of an incredibly distressing time for me, but also of tremendous ramifications for the partners and the rest of the staff. 

It massively damaged relationships within the practice – some members of staff were being constantly pestered to take sides, and others were angry about the fall out, and the need for them to work more to cover shifts. I felt completely isolated, as if nobody was on my side, and as if how I was feeling throughout the process was unimportant to everyone else.  Not to mention the effect that my words had on that staff member, no matter how ridiculous they were being at the time. It was a total mess, caused by one unthinking statement. Since then, I have always, always, had a policy of thinking before I say anything to any member of my team, in case it may cause damage to them, to me, my partners, or my practice and its reputation.     

If I see something online, perhaps someone asking for advice (maybe on the PI forum or a Facebook/Twitter post), I’ll only answer if I’m sure of my facts and sure that what I’m saying won’t land anyone in trouble. Advice is always given with the best of intentions – this is just about re-reading that advice, and thinking before you ‘jump’.

With social media and our online presence being so easy to find, I would always urge caution – whether it’s in person, or on Twitter or Facebook, or anywhere else on the good ole t’interweb, if you’re responding to a comment, just beware. A lack of thought can, and will, come back to bite you, trust me!