A morning clinic log.
8:00 AM — Systems crawling
Logged in. Computers slow as ever—4 minutes to boot the whole thing.
Phones already going. One patient missing a prescription.
Reception busy.
18 booked in.
One red-flag potassium from yesterday’s bloods.
No coffee yet.
8:31 AM — Running late already
First patient came in panicked with a printout from Google. Convinced it’s a tumour. It’s not. Spent most of the time calming her down.
Second didn’t show. A small catch-up break.
Third brought a list—headache, joint pain, and a mole.
No way to say “one problem only” without sounding cold.
Tried to manage all three. Now behind.
9:15 AM — Things pile up
Eighteen minutes behind.
Next patient: breathless, swollen ankles. Likely heart failure.
Tried to organise bloods, ECG, and pushed for a same-day echo.
Typing the referral while they were still in the room.
Notes had to be tight—if this spirals, it could come back to me.
Straight into a grieving patient. Husband died six weeks ago.
Struggling to keep up emotionally and clinically.
10:05 AM — System block
Tried to refer a child for autism assessment.
The form’s ridiculous—five pages, attachments needed, school info missing.
Can’t submit.
Left a task for two weeks. Hope I remember.
10:42 AM — Suspected viral
Child with fever, recent travel.
Put on PPE. Swabbed. Reassured. Cleaned.
Typed fast.
Waiting room starting to clear up.
11:15 AM — PND case
Mum said she was fine.
Paused. Asked again.
She’s not. Tearful, sleep-deprived, depressed.
Sorted referral. Called HV.
Box of tissues used.
Queue growing outside. One patient visibly frustrated.
11:52 AM — Admin spike
29 new tasks.
Potassium 6.3.
A missed prescription.
Voicemail from a patient who’s had two falls this week.
Actioned what I could. Left flags for later.
Last patient: chest pain. Relieved by sitting forward.
?Pericarditis.
Unable to get the medics. Sent urgent referral.
Had two minutes to gather thoughts before the next wave.
12:30 PM — Doors close, work continues
Patients done. But not really done.
Still had:
– 5 sets of notes to complete
– 4 referrals pending
– 8 blood results
– An email about fire safety training
A colleague popped in: “Can you just check this mole?”
Phone buzzed.
Wife asking if I can take him to the park after work.
Checked afternoon clinic: 15 booked. 3 callbacks.
Took a breath. Started typing again.
This is how things are done now.
The care must continue, even if the system is broken.
Thanks for reading.
-Dr. Danial Daud