All About Doctors Radio

For further information on the episode, please visit allaboutdoctorsradio.com

Dr Dave Hindmarsh is a GP in the North East England and Army Veteran. After having 11 years of service, he realised that he needed to change his life to be less career focused and to ensure that work-life balance is addressed. This was bought into no small part by the untimely death of his new born son, James. This made him turn to literature to try and help on this journey, The Chimp Paradox and Atomic habits really helping to focus his efforts.

He is now balancing his own portfolio career, being a new partner in Eaglescliffe Medical Practice, Hull-York Medical School and teaching locally. The YouTube channel, GP Templates, is his own passion project that was born out of trying to create a second income. It has started to focus on some really key points from his life with the aim that they can help others in similar predicaments.

This is a new step in Dave’s career as he tries to pull all that he has been through to bring meaning to what he has been through and to carefully share with patients and help them on their own individual journey.

If you wish to contact Dave, then feel free to drop a line to: [email protected]

He can also be found on

Twitter (@GP_Templates) https://twitter.com/GP_Templates

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1939735739516109

YouTube: GP Templates - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC10JRUBDHZDKHuQ3U4mHO8g

Other links that may be useful from the Podcast….

Elephant bike: https://www.cycleofgood.com/elephant-bike/

Books:

Atomic Habits. James Clear

(YouTube review -

The Chimp Paradox. Prof Steve Peters

Badge design: I did this through MBC Badges (https://www.badges.org.uk/)

Charities: Sick Childrens Trust: https://www.sickchildrenstrust.org/

When a child suddenly becomes ill, there’s no time to plan. We're here to give families one less thing to worry about by giving them a place to stay, free of charge just minutes from their child’s bedside.

The Warrior Programme: https://www.warriorprogramme.org.uk/

This is a charity that helps service personnel, veterans and families of with a way to emotionally control enables individuals to manage their emotions and to develop the resilience, focus and motivation to succeed in today’s world. The programme has been developed over the last ten years to meet the demands and challenges experienced by past and present members of the armed forces and their families.

Hagen Jahnich is a consultant orthopaedic surgeon specialising in upper limb at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust. A former officer in the East German Army, Hagen recounts the emotions surrounding the fall of the Berlin Wall, as well as performing his physical training with tank chains whilst preparing himself for international competition as an open water rower. Since then he has competed on national and international levels and won multiple national titles and remains the last ever East German National Champion in the lightweight double sculls and he has won the British National Championships, also having won six World Masters Regattas.

On the episode today I have the pleasure of presenting Miss Tena Walters, Consultant Breast Surgeon. Tena has been a consultant surgeon since 1996 and now divides her time between surgical management of breast disease including breast cancer, as well as her interests in Art. Tena qualified from Barts Medical school in 1983 and completed her training in the South East of England. She was appointed Lecturer in Anatomy, and subsequently lecturer in Surgery on the Professorial Surgical Unit at Barts where she completed an MS thesis studying smooth muscle cell proliferation. In 1996 she was appointed as a Consultant in Breast Surgery at Queen Mary's Hospital and became Lead Clinician of the Breast Unit in 1998 and Lead Clinician in Oncology in 2002.

I met Tena as one of my supervising consultants whilst completing my junior doctor training in South East London. Her human and personable touch to not only patients but to us junior 'grunts' was unprecedented but welcomed. She has an infallible ability to touch the lives of her patients and those she comes into contact with, and this is evident from the podcast conversation. 

Tena goes into real detail on her early years as a surgeon, juggling small children and the monolithic training to pass the fellowship college exams as well as complete postgraduate research. Back in 1996, only 1 in 1000 surgeons were not only female, but had children at home. She shares her thoughts on the fabled '1 in 2 rota' at the Homerton Hospital, and we talk about PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder)in medicine. As the discussion evolves, Tena is open, transparent and very candid. But her sense of humour is all-conquering. We touch on psychopathic personality traits in surgery...good or bad - you decide?

Please enjoy this fantastic conversation with Miss Tena Walters 

On the episode today I have the pleasure of presenting Miss Tena Walters, Consultant Breast Surgeon. Tena has been a consultant surgeon since 1996 and now divides her time between surgical management of breast disease including breast cancer, as well as her interests in Art. Tena qualified from Barts Medical school in 1983 and completed her training in the South East of England. She was appointed Lecturer in Anatomy, and subsequently lecturer in Surgery on the Professorial Surgical Unit at Barts where she completed an MS thesis studying smooth muscle cell proliferation. In 1996 she was appointed as a Consultant in Breast Surgery at Queen Mary's Hospital and became Lead Clinician of the Breast Unit in 1998 and Lead Clinician in Oncology in 2002.

I met Tena as one of my supervising consultants whilst completing my junior doctor training in South East London. Her human and personable touch to not only patients but to us junior 'grunts' was unprecedented but welcomed. She has an infallible ability to touch the lives of her patients and those she comes into contact with, and this is evident from the podcast conversation. 

Tena goes into real detail on her early years as a surgeon, juggling small children and the monolithic training to pass the fellowship college exams as well as complete postgraduate research. Back in 1996, only 1 in 1000 surgeons were not only female, but had children at home. She shares her thoughts on the fabled '1 in 2 rota' at the Homerton Hospital, and we talk about PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder)in medicine. As the discussion evolves, Tena is open, transparent and very candid. But her sense of humour is all-conquering. We touch on psychopathic personality traits in surgery...good or bad - you decide?

Please enjoy this fantastic conversation with Miss Tena Walters 

This episode concludes Season Two of All About Doctors Radio; it has signified a real insight into the lives and times of some really fantastic colleagues out there. By just having the opportunity to get under the skin of these amazing professionals, I really get to understand what makes them tick, and the factors and elements that make them who there are. I am rapidly learning that the most effective of us have multiple layers to us, and it's not all about work, but the ability to reach down into our toolkit and pick out a tool just for the right occasion. 

On the episode the young and insightful Dr Albert Koomson talks about how sport has been important to him in sailing his ship through the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr Pauline Morris, founder of Doctors Caring For Doctors talks about dealing with our wayward perceptions of apparent 'failure' as well as accepting others into our lives. 

Dr Neil Potter, Kent Local Medical Committee representative talks about his hopes for the future of the NHS. Founder of medic wellbeing organisation Medizom, Ross McKean, gives thoughts as to how being allowed to care for patients personally in his early years gave him important skills now as a GP, as well as the possible dangers of social media. Dr Richard Laurent, recently retired GP and great friend, discusses the sinister translocation of acute into chronic stress un the life of a GP.

Finally, Dr David Unwin, the British GP who has helped pioneer reversal of type 2 diabetes with low carbohydrate eating, talks about his thoughts on retirement, and the biggest u turn in medical history at 55 years old! We conclude the episode with some stirring and sobering contemplations from David regarding not only a world he knew with out diabetes and obesity, but also an important message for our profession and colleagues out there.

I hope you enjoy this carousel of soundbites from these wonderful individuals, and creates a nice springboard and platform for Season Three. 

During the second part of my conversation with Dr Albert Koomson, we start by taking a step back into his very early life,  growing up in Ghana. When Albert's father accepted a post as a Consultant Anaesthetist in the UK, the family actually relocated to North London nearby to the Tottenham Hotspur football stadium. Albert muses on how living in a challenging neighbourhood gifted him important skills in life but also on how to be comfortable with being uncomfortable, accepting the adversity, diversity and social skew that surrounded him in the local areas.   Albert is generous with his inner thoughts, and provides me with insight into why his father is a role model he is in his life, and always will be.  On arriving in the the UK, he made a tremendous success of his career and demonstrated important qualities and attributes to a young and impressionable Albert such as selflessness, kindness, and a insatiable thirst and passion for life which have automatically seared themselves permanently onto Alberts personality also. In Alberts words, he had a  ‘sublime courage’, and ‘broke down the doors and glass ceilings’ that were present for many overseas doctors working in the British NHS, especially at a time when they may have experienced episodes of prejudice and unnecessary obstacles. This is an important discussion for us both and draws the parallels with those important to me in my own life. 

But did you know that Albert actually completed a degree in microbiology at Leicester before moving onto medicine and in hindsight, was not necessarily such a bad idea? He gives important insights into why being mature and emotionally intelligent is an essential prerequisite for building a successful platform during the early years of medical school and a springboard to accepting the seriousness of studying medicine. During the second half of the conversation we swap thoughts about some of the fears of qualification and being a doctor by default as termed by the media so to speak. In particular, he refers to  some of the ‘front line’ military talk rhetoric expressed within the National media which understandably frightened and concerned his cohort.  Albert talks emotionally about dealing with the overwhelming tsunami of COVID-19 on the wards.  The  aggressively steep learning curve and rules of engagement for discussion with worried families as well as reflections on the sudden worsening changes in condition  in a seemingly-well COVID-19 patient. We see insights as to how his faith and belief in God, the importance of good family support , is so important to him and has been transformational in dealing with the pain and fear in the first few months of being a doctor. 

What is clearly evident from our conversation, is Albert’s wholehearted gratitude to those in his life that have allowed him to be in the position he is and also supported him with his role being on the front line in these last few months. Finally, we finish off by talking about dreams and aspirations for a career in elite organised team sports…..and just why a dream job of being the Manchester United Head medic may not be all it is cracked up to be….

Please enjoy the remainder of this joyful conversation with the charming and funny, Dr Albert Koomson.

Dr Albert Koomson is a 26 year old foundation doctor in Harlow, Essex, South East England. He is one the many newly qualified British doctors to be unfortunately  appointed by the medical press in the ‘Class Of Corona’. Personally, I am not entirely sure whether the label was something of legend or more likely imposed by the medical press. Back in spring of 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic had menacingly swept across Western Europe, landing firmly on British shores, something important and monumental was happening at the  University of East Anglia Medical School.  By gratification and granting of pre-registration rights from the General Medical Council, was in essence,  the de-facto appointment as doctors on the spot. This was an unprecedented and earth-shattering decision made in conjunction with many other medical schools across the UK.

I first got to know Albert when I read his article and qualitative research in the British Medical Journal Doctor supplement with interest. He wrote candidly and openly about the fear and emotion behind being a doctor by default and taking a front row seat in the ‘Class Of Corona’. 

Albert  ignites  with emotion during the first part of the episode as we venture into the topic of sport, and just how the impact of team sports, rugby and football specifically,  has positively affected his life. Nevertheless, we also see  glimpses of frustration and fearfulness from moments of a life without organised sport from  successive national lockdowns. Albert talks openly about how that scares him.  Albert touches on some important themes of just how sport engenders not only identity and  purpose in a young man, but also the life-skills and confidence that translate to a fantastic future likely in sports medicine. Albert demonstrates his skill as motivator and inspirational figure to those around him as demonstrated with the success stories of the Norwich University Medical Student football team. Albert talks about enforcing drinking bands, how the fittest teams, not necessarily the most skilful teams, often come out on top. He proposes how many of the  skills from the field of play are translatable to the workplace and so impacting those around him.

I had a really fantastic couple of hours speaking with Albert and it was an unmitigated pleasure. We are both London boys and I felt really at home with him talking about mutual overlaps of North London. Albert is a real gentle, lovely and insightful young man and has a beautiful attitude to life. 

Episode 23 concludes the conversation with the powerful and fearless Dr David Unwin, as this family GP uncovers the self-doubt and self-criticism that characterised those early days in 2012 whilst consistently reversing type 2 diabetes with low carbohydrate eating, and why the recipes suggested by him and his consultant psychologist wife Jen required a large healthy slice of tenacity to combat the naysayers. It certainly wasn't all plain-sailing in those early days, and David talks about needing to persuade and convince his partners at his practice, who were at the time making things fairly uncomfortable, but perhaps not as much as the sheer aggression and barbarity he received from so-called colleagues in the hinterland of medicine.

We touch on trolling, hate mail and why just like why perhaps love conquers all….so does working for free conquers all, and why this shift in his thinking provided the dynamite to detonate a cascade of impactful events that led to publication of groundbreaking evidence of type 2 diabetes reversal. Although working for free, David talks how paradoxically this gave him wealth without the status of any monetary value, and the fun this brought him, which has helped him overcome the self doubt and a growing, insidious, pervasive feeling that he may have actually been wrong until the age of 55.  The episode draws significant emotion from this wonderful man, and David talks about a world he once knew without obesity and type 2 diabetes, and why it will always be the inequalities of healthcare that keep him awake at night. 

Lastly, for me, personally, my final resonating message in my mind once the microphone was turned off was David's call to action and a finger firmly pointed at my generation, and those coming after me, and in fact all or our colleagues in the world. Now is our time to stand up and be counted, have you the determination to be a hero or heroine and save a life just like David?
 
Or you can wuss out and stay silent.

As in the Pink Floyd song , did you exchange a walk on part in a war  for a lead role in a cage…..?

I had the honour and privilege  to be talking at length with a family doctor-cum-worldwide phenomenon and innovator - Dr David Unwin.  Having worked as a GP for 35 years as a one-practice-man at Norwood NHS Surgery in Southport, just north of Liverpool, David was just about ready to hang up his stethoscope having called time on a steady and well-crafted career as a family doctor, with an extremely enviable reputation. On a long run in the hills one day with his clinical psychotherapist wife Jen, David was asked the one burning question which would go on to define his career, and lead him to become one of the world's leading experts in the (they say it can't be done..) reversal of Type 2 Diabetes. We recount exactly where, on that run, that small fragment of a synaptic spark, a mind seed perhaps, would go on to sprout into a lifelong obsession, calling and mission. David muses on the solutions that often emerge when we ask ourselves the toughest questions during acts of intensive physical activity. Jen simply asked him;  What would you do with your life if money was no object? The idea was incepted, the birthing of a radical, innovative, but highly effective nutritional shift - and the Norwood Plan was spawned. To date, his practice has seen a nearly 50% remission rate of type 2 diabetes from utilization of a low carbohydrate diet, championed by David and Jen, through evidence-based medicine but also through the power of motivational coaching of patients.  

Further recognition of his impact and services to medicine were acknowledged with achievement of the RCGP (Royal College of General Practitioners) ‘National Champion in Obesity and Diabetes’ in 2015, also leading to the winning of the UK NHS ‘Innovator of the Year’ award in 2016. His work has been featured by the major networks including BBC and Channel Four in several documentaries, as well notably within the The Times and Daily Mail newspapers, and the  British Medical Journal. With a twitter-handle @lowcarbGP he has over 55k followers. 

I learn a little more on the blue tongue skink and what it may be doing in his living room, as well as how to escape psychologically from the clutches of money, and the simple but ever-giving  prize of doing something for nothing. During the later part of this first half of the interview, we go subterranean, and discuss the dark ethics of medicine, the tsunamis of ill health, the inequalities of global healthcare, and simply the.... shall we say….iatrogenic...tragedy that is type 2 diabetes.  

This was an honour, a privilege, and pleasure to be sharing a couple of hours with this inspirational and courageous individual. The episode was a milestone for both myself and the podcast, and an emotional one at that, but more of that later on in the second part if you can wait.