Well, some of you may know me either as an ex or new colleague, or from my previous blogs when I was a PM in Gloucestershire. I haven’t written for a while but this was because I turned my whole life upside down by not only moving jobs but moving county!

When I applied for this post, I mentioned it to my (grown up) kids. They were happy for me to go for it, but not happy to move out – turns out that kids these days don’t want to leave home! So, we left them with a fridge full of food to be going on with and I’m now running a dispensing surgery on the very gorgeous Roseland Peninsula in Cornwall.

Having been recently asked if I’d like to ‘blog’ again, here I am, dear reader! I’ve swapped a view of the rolling Stroud Valleys to one which looks out onto the beach. Currently, the sea as I look out of my office window, is as flat as a pancake. Not bad eh?!

The dispensary (and the associated VAT returns) is very definitely different. I never worried about VAT before as my previous practice wasn’t VAT registered, but now I’m having to check invoices – can I claim the VAT back on this? Have we claimed VAT back on that?! My new accountant very helpfully gave me some light bed-time reading material: VATHLT2130 or as it’s more commonly known, “Table 3 Liability of services provided by Doctors”. It’s not quite as bad as 50 Shades (which was absolutely diabolical – and I didn’t even read it), but it’s a close second!

Having said that, I’m 5 months in and I think getting there…though my new colleagues may think differently! I’ve had to learn a new accounting package and a new clinical system. The staff have all been incredibly helpful and the doctors are, well, doctors – they don’t change do they?!

The other thing that’s new (aside of the job) is the lifestyle – everyone has a much more laid back approach than I’m used to. Certainly my stress levels are less, but then a walk on the beach with the mutts within half an hour of getting home probably has something to do with that. That’s not to say there is no stress – of course there is. Whilst the learning curve is always vertical when you start a new job, the approach here is definitely different. And the dress code is massively different – I always wore a suit, now it’s a more relaxed take on smart/casual.

There is actually another real change to our lifestyle that I hadn’t bargained on: the mobile signal in Cornwall is virtually non-existent. My kids can’t phone me when they want something (usually the fridge to be filled) – they have to email me or use social media. And by the time the wifi works (which is a whole other story) their hunger has forced them to pick their own pockets and buy food. So that’s a bonus!

Now I don’t bother to look at my phone, because I know it’ll only bleep at certain times. I am strangely free of that tie, which is quite liberating – odd at first, but liberating nevertheless. If something really dreadful has befallen a family member, there is that old, traditional method of contacting me – the landline.

So, life is very good – the job is challenging, but then I was 15 years at the last practice and at some point, you do have to throw yourself back to the lions and stretch yourself, but we’re by the sea, we walk on the beach, and we’re very definitely enjoying the change of pace.

I still rant at Jeremy Hunt, (I haven’t calmed down at all) and he still never responds to my tweets. I pick holes in every programme that covers the NHS – there’s a new drama on TV (Dr Foster) and in the first 10 minutes I had her struck off by the GMC.

But more of that in the next blog…