Portfolio Career - HSL
Jan 31, 12:49 PM
The timing’s fascinating. I applied to be Chair of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges in early February 2020, and the results of the election was announced, either the 8th or 9th April 2020, by which time we were in lockdown… So, when I, so in March 2020, I was working, I was doing a few more sessions in general practice as a stepping stone, until I quite knew what was working out, I was back at the University of Birmingham, so I’d gone back and I was doing a series of projects with them as my life worked out… but I was also throwing myself into the work establishing the National Academy for Social Prescribing, and in fact, we launched, the official launch of the National Academy of Social Prescribing was on the 12th March 2020, and we held it in the South Bank Centre and Matt Hancock, the Secretary of State then,.. he came and launched it and we were on tenterhooks, should we or shouldn’t we cancel the event. Would he or wouldn’t he turn up… He came and he did the event… and we spoke briefly about what was happening,.. and he looked me in the eye and he said, “I’m not sure when we’ll next do anything face to face.”