Pseudocyst

The adventures and life of a Specialist Nurse in Upper GI and Bariatric surgery. If you then double and triple this by having a primary school age child AND being married to another Nurse then you have double the trouble….aehm I mean fun. Hobbies are playing chess, board games and being taxi for our son!!!

Unless otherwise indicated, all the names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents in this blog are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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  • A Well-Earned Easter Break: A Moment to Recharge for Our Busy Family

    After weeks of juggling full-time work at the NHS, the school run, and endless responsibilities, our family is finally enjoying a much-needed Easter break. It’s a time for rest, relaxation, and a well-earned pause from the chaos that has become our daily routine. For me, as a full-time NHS worker, the past few months have Read more

  • The Implications of Bariatric Surgery Abroad: A Critical Analysis of Patient Outcomes and NHS Impact

    Bariatric surgery is an increasingly popular intervention for severe obesity, offering significant health benefits, including weight loss, improved metabolic health, and reduced morbidity and mortality (Rubino et al., 2022). However, in the UK, patients seeking such procedures face long NHS waiting lists or costly private treatment. Consequently, an increasing number opt for medical tourism, undergoing Read more

  • Setting up an Ambulatory Pancreatitis Clinic in Somerset: Challenges and Feasibility

    Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a significant cause of hospital admissions, with an incidence of approximately 30–50 per 100,000 per year in the UK (Yadav & Lowenfels, 2013). While severe cases necessitate inpatient care, mild-to-moderate cases (which constitute up to 80% of presentations) could be managed in an ambulatory setting (NICE, 2018). Benefits of an ambulatory Read more

  • Physician Associates

    The introduction of physician associates (PAs) into the NHS workforce has been a subject of considerable debate. Advocates argue that PAs can help alleviate pressures on an overstretched system, whereas critics highlight concerns regarding their scope of practice, limitations, and the implications for patient safety. The following write-up give you a “critical analysis” of the Read more

  • Mental Health problems overdiagnoses?

    Wes Streeting’s comments earlier today on the overdiagnosis of mental health issues have ignited an important debate on the intersection of public health policy and welfare economics. While acknowledging the legitimacy of mental health conditions, Streeting warns against a growing tendency to diagnose individuals too readily, potentially leading to over-reliance on welfare benefits rather than Read more

  • Closure of NHS England??!!??

    The NHS was established on July 5, 1948, as part of the post-World War II welfare state reforms led by the Labour government under Prime Minister Clement Attlee and Health Minister Aneurin Bevan. The foundation of the NHS was driven by the Beveridge Report of 1942, which identified the need to eliminate the “five giants” Read more

  • Back to the “Madhouse”

    After 9 days off it was back to work for me on Monday. I knew that colorectal was on-call at the weekend and therefore our UGI list wouldn’t be too bad. Having said that the colorectal consultant on-call doesn’t do any UGI related problems and therefore when I arrived on Monday morning 9 referrals were Read more

  • What a week

    Halfway through the week I did had my day off which was needed. It’s relatively rare that we have to palliate 2-3 patient in a week and despite finally making the decision within the team together with the patient and family it is still “stressful” For the family and the patient to come to terms Read more