Description

Early morning

I live not far from Hampton Court Palace, a very pleasant area of Surrey. I normally get up around 7.30 am and after a fruit and fibre breakfast drive through commuter traffic to the Health Authority Headquarters, arriving at about 9.30am. No day is the same, but life seems to be increasingly dictated by e-mails these days, and I am no exception. I first check the amusing or rude e-mails sent by friends and colleagues. The volume of information available is prodigious but I always check the daily news available from the Regional Medicines Information Service which provides the latest news on medicines and related matters. As the public face of the Health Authority on drug related issues I must keep one step ahead. I respond to patient queries and complaints, particularly where we have advised that specific drugs should not be used. I prefer to respond on behalf of prescribers so that they should not be blamed for seemingly adverse decisions.