Welcome Eye News Aug/Sep 2023, your bi-monthly tonic for a much-needed happy hour. In the current climate of challenge across all fronts, there’s no better time to reach out for the professional equivalent of a cheery cup in the company of like-minded companions as we collectively brace ourselves for the winter and beyond. Our content makes an ideal visual accompaniment to your favourite mocktail and / or cocktail to be enjoyed after a hard day’s toil. Plus, your hard copy usefully doubles up as a handy coaster for catching those fruity drips, allowing you to recline stain-free in your deckchair to catch the last few rays of the Indian summer.
It has been a bumpy ride since Jun/Jul 2023, with inflation rising, real-terms earnings dropping and doctors striking. There is a distinctly unhappy feeling, stress and burnout in trainees and trainers on the rise, morale at a low and some opting to move elsewhere in pursuit of a change in specialty and domicile. Amidst the gloom, it is easy to lose sight of just how amazing our specialty has become over the years. Indeed, this edition of Eye News exemplifies reasons to stay enthusiastic and engaged with the jewel in the crown of the NHS, ophthalmology.
On the happy hour menu today we have a regular range of old familiars, as they guide us through the highs and lows of a Phoenix poker player, some sharp card playing from bogus Pete and a spot of 3D printing from our tech expert, David. Our specials include a range of clinical reports, a choice selection of overseas updates and an array of insightful pieces ranging from tumours to toxicity, AI to antibodies, slit-lamps to melanoma. Plus, shout outs to Jonathan for another absorbing article from our skin specialist and the excellent Community Eye Health Journal, recommended reading for once you have worked your way through our menu.
As we ponder the high-quality offerings for Aug/Sep 2023, it’s worth reminding ourselves how much we can still learn in this great specialty of ours – however it is clear that urgent TLC is required in order to preserve, sustain and grow NHS services for generations to come. Pay has emerged as a pressing issue, but there is much more we could do to stem the flow of mojo away from what has traditionally been a nurturing NHS looking after staff from newbie to consultant and beyond.
Having travelled this path, I’d suggest there are basic ‘must-have’ ingredients to survive working long hours, shifts and on-calls: a plate of decent hot food and drink accessible day and night, served in a canteen rather than cellophane-wrapped microwavable mush ejected from a vending machine; a place to rest and recuperate; a doctor’s mess – a safe place where experiences are shared, mentorship and advice is on tap and stress is diluted and dissipated across the team. This might all sound quite old fashioned, a bit ‘Shirley Temple’, and possibly rather pricey. Not so. Weighed against the cost of not caring for those who are there to care, it is a drop in the ocean.
Hard as it is to keep the glass half full, we must keep supporting our staff with grace and good humour. We very much hope you enjoy this issue, and for readers looking for a lyrical tipple chaser, you might try popping into the late Hovis Presley’s Poetic Off Licence. Bittersweet, but it will make you smile: https://youtu.be/6l7Ns8fLlTc
Cheers! – BD
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