ABSTRACT
This article is for those of you who have just struggled through an endless evening surgery, are worried about your forthcoming appraisal, don't know where you are going to find the time for the series of critical incident meetings your PCT are insisting on, and are now slumped in the armchair at home wondering if it is all worth it. I am here to tell you that it is. It has taken me some odd routes to find this out and sadly it is a truism that you have to stop doing something to discover how valuable it was. I have retired from active general practice after 30 years because of a spot of bother with the old ticker. Since this decision leaked out I have been inundated with letters, phone calls and sometimes embarrassingly emo tional embraces by the broccoli in Tesco's. My official retirement date was 01.8.03 and to date (it is the 17 August today) I have accumulated over 200 cards and letters. I am not writing this to boast, hubris is too unforgiving for that, and I am well aware that many of Harold Shipman's patients thought he was wonderful, but I wanted to share some of the sentiments that have been expressed to make you think and cheer you up.
