I was at a dinner meeting for our hospital a few years ago, before everyone went in to sit at their tables and hear the evenings’ speeches, there was some time for the usual networking over wine in the reception room and I got chatting to an established local primary care physician.

A respected member of the hospital staff who has been in practice for over 30 years. He’s quite a presence and a great clinician, someone who still finds himself coming into the hospital to work on various administrative duties. I expect every hospital has characters like him wandering around.