From the Trainer
Assistant Director (GP), South East Scotland
E-mail: richardson.judith{at}googlemail.com
As I write this, we are in the throws of the Edinburgh Festival, or more correctly festivals, as the madness is composed of multiple different festivals including the International, Film, Book, Jazz and Fringe to name a few. By far, the largest is the Fringe and you cannot move without being accosted by people on stilts, unicycles, jugglers, mime artists and earnest performers thrusting leaflets into your hands and entreating you to come and see their shows. I am sure that you can imagine that many of the performers and visitors require the services of a GP. As we are centrally located, in fact right beside an enormous upside down cow called the underbelly, we attract a number of them to the practice as temporary residents.
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In this issue of InnovAiT, we look at Men's health so I thought I might share a few tales from the festivals’ male artists and followers.
Today, I met a man who had fallen off a ladder and hurt his shoulder. He had been to the hospital and had it X-rayed and having been uncontactable when we tried to inform him of the result, had come in as it was still hurting. He was surprised to learn that he had broken his clavicle, but reluctant to attend the local fracture clinic as he was performing in the fringe falling of a ladder every afternoon! He reassured me that he was falling on his other shoulder, thereby protecting the damaged one. That having previously fractured his other clavicle he knew that they would just put it in collar and cuff, and that it would get better. However, I felt he really should be seen at the fracture clinic and having listed carefully to his ideas, concerns and expectations arranged a morning appointment so as not to interfere with his show—after all the show must go on.
A few years ago, a GP in the practice was Medical Officer to the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. This usually entailed sitting comfortably in a box watching the show. On this occasion, however, the Royal Corp of Signals display team were performing a crossover in the confined space of the castle esplanade when two motorbikes collided. One of the riders had a suspected spinal fracture and the GP was called to attend. As he walked out onto the esplanade, the crowd started to clap, so he quickly fell into a march. On arriving at the casualty, he assessed him and helped place him on a stretcher, on which he was taken away by the paramedics to hospital. The crowd continued to clap and cheer, so my colleague marched back towards the box and before leaving the esplanade saluted the crowd. To this day, the spectators on that night probably still think it was all part of the show—after all the show must go on.
Perhaps, these are not strictly to do with Men's health but it is perhaps best not to tell tales of the Comedians with anal warts as they are far better at telling these tales than I am! These two examples do however illustrate the diversity of General Practice and that you never know what might come through the door next.
If you have not been to the Edinburgh festival, it is definitely worth a visit.
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