Last Weekend

---Debbie (left) and Mary who accompanied me to the workshop in London---

--Randip (one of the STI specialists) and I out with the public health office for my birthday celebration--

--Down House, where Darwin lived and wrote "On the Origin of Species"--

--Dr Bingham and I outside another random palace/castle--

View of London from Greenwich Observatory--

I started Friday off with another trip to the mainland on the car ferry and a long, but exciting meeting at the regional headquarters for a priorities meeting committee. The purpose of the committee is to decide which treatment options are permitted for which patients and to advise physicians accordingly. They essentially undertake the same sorts of conversations as our HMO's. Usually they deal with new cancer treatments but Friday's agenda was In Vitro Fertilization and Bone Marrow Stem Cell Transplants which are both extremely complicated, and, especially w/ IVF, ethically charged. I won't bore you with the details but seeing the physicians and administrators (commissioners) interact and reach compromises on very difficult issues was amazing. Determining the ages at which the NHS will pay for IVF was exceptionally complicated and heated (only 36-39 if you were wondering).

After the meeting Dr Bingham and I drove to his parent's house in London where I would stay the weekend. They are both in their late 70's but very much in tune with the world and energetic. We stayed up late one evening talking about what it was like to grow up in London during the nightly bombings by Germany which was really interesting and a discussion I'm afraid won't be possible in another 10 or 15 years. Dr Bingham's mother was a great cook and I got to sample typical English dishes like shepherd's pie, cabbage, a full english breakfast, etc.

We went to Greenwich, Downe (Darwin's house), a roman castle, and walked around the hills overlooking London where Elizabeth I grew up in an amazing palace. Overall, a great weekend and fantastic ending to my time here (I have 4 work days left). I've learned a lot about the NHS but also about England in general b/c Paul and others in the NHS have been so willing to teach me the history, culture, politics, and general views of the places and people I've visited. I've been very fortunate to experience another country and health care system in such a thorough manner and though I'm incredibly excited to return, I'm sure I'll miss England as soon as I'm back.

By the way...we really should work on our isolationist attitude. Hearing the BBC Radio News on the way back to the Island today, 14 of 19 news items mentioned the US in some way. What or who in the world is Fannie Mae?...I need to catch up...

I just realized I forgot to put up pictures of people at work so definitely check them out...hopefully more to come tomorrow.