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Apr. 20th, 2014 09:16 pmThe locum consultant post he's been doing is about to run out. And with two failed interviews under his belt, Guppy has been feeling somewhat nervous about it. Another locum post is still an option, but he wants to get things sorted sooner rather than later.
His third interview takes him back to St James' Hospital, where he worked under Dr Wood for a number of years. It's the same department, so he is rather hoping that it may be the retirement of his former boss that has led to the position being open.
He pops up to his old ward to say hello to everyone, and is startled to find that the door to Crombie-Fitzgerald ward now has a new swipe lock on it, which his pass won't let him enter. In fact, the sign to the ward has changed entirely, and the artwork that Fran and one of the nurses did has been painted over. The sign above the door is in golden letters.
'Holby Gold'
There isn't time to process this before the interview. Guppy makes his way over to the offices, and waits outside. There's another candidate waiting, and Guppy gives him a nod. He knows the other man - they were in the same year when he was a junior, and he knows the other man is well known for being lazy and cutting corners. The interview is looking more promising if he's the competition.
As he steps into the room, he spots Dr Wood is on the panel. His former boss gives him a reassuring smile. The other two on the panel introduce themselves - one is a senior manager, the other introduces herself as Dr Bell.
He feels he answers the questions rather well, though Dr Wood doesn't ask or comment on any. He suspects that his former boss has declared a conflict of interest, and that it's nothing personal, but to avoid showing bias.
He leaves the interview feeling positive. A couple of minutes later, as he's going towards the canteen, Dr Wood comes out into the corridor and beckons him over.
"I'm sorry I couldn't talk to you back there." he says. "It was good to see you applied, I hoped you would. But of course as you saved my life, I'm not allowed to influence the panel too much."
"It's good to see you too." Guppy says, giving him a handshake which turns into a manhug.
"Listen - I'm pretty sure you're going to get the job, but I wanted to know if you were aware of how the department has changed in the last year, so you know whether you want to accept." Dr Wood continues.
"I was a bit surprised when I came in - what's happened?" Guppy asks, as they head down the corridor.
"Crombie-Fitzgerald ward is gone." Dr Wood says. "You know that they were merging it before, and that we had to cut jobs, well in the end the local authority decided the whole thing should be centralised. All the stroke rehab is now at Queen's, and the people we used to work with have scattered. They want someone to take over Florey ward."
"Florey Ward... that's general elderly?" Guppy asks.
"Partially, but they specialise in dementia and cognitive impairment." Dr Wood says. "Should be quite up your street, actually. You'll have to make cutbacks though, and that might mean jobs, so I just want to make sure you're aware of that."
Guppy nods. Budgets and bureaucracy come with the higher levels of the job. He won't be cutting people out if he can help it, though. He remembers how upset Fran was when it happened to her.
"What's Holby Gold?" he asks, remembering suddenly.
"That's the new Private Wing." Dr Wood says, sighing slightly. "We've lost rather a lot of beds - but it's generating income for the hospital, which we badly need. Dr Sharpe was working on the financial deal before he got arrested for fraud."
Guppy grimaces. It was exactly the sort of thing Dr Sharpe would be involved with. Dr Wood continues quickly.
"Anyway, if Dr Sharpe had stayed away from fraud, he'd now be raking it in. Dr Bell is now in charge of Holby Gold, though she works on the NHS side as well. She's financially minded, but she's a good doctor, so try to keep her on side as best you can."
Guppy nods. "I wish you were staying." he admits. "You'll keep in touch, right? Whether or not I get the job."
"Course I will!" Dr Wood smiles. "You'll be fine, and you can always call if you need advice."
Later that afternoon, Guppy gets the call. He has his first permanent consultant post, and he's got a lot of work to do.
His third interview takes him back to St James' Hospital, where he worked under Dr Wood for a number of years. It's the same department, so he is rather hoping that it may be the retirement of his former boss that has led to the position being open.
He pops up to his old ward to say hello to everyone, and is startled to find that the door to Crombie-Fitzgerald ward now has a new swipe lock on it, which his pass won't let him enter. In fact, the sign to the ward has changed entirely, and the artwork that Fran and one of the nurses did has been painted over. The sign above the door is in golden letters.
'Holby Gold'
There isn't time to process this before the interview. Guppy makes his way over to the offices, and waits outside. There's another candidate waiting, and Guppy gives him a nod. He knows the other man - they were in the same year when he was a junior, and he knows the other man is well known for being lazy and cutting corners. The interview is looking more promising if he's the competition.
As he steps into the room, he spots Dr Wood is on the panel. His former boss gives him a reassuring smile. The other two on the panel introduce themselves - one is a senior manager, the other introduces herself as Dr Bell.
He feels he answers the questions rather well, though Dr Wood doesn't ask or comment on any. He suspects that his former boss has declared a conflict of interest, and that it's nothing personal, but to avoid showing bias.
He leaves the interview feeling positive. A couple of minutes later, as he's going towards the canteen, Dr Wood comes out into the corridor and beckons him over.
"I'm sorry I couldn't talk to you back there." he says. "It was good to see you applied, I hoped you would. But of course as you saved my life, I'm not allowed to influence the panel too much."
"It's good to see you too." Guppy says, giving him a handshake which turns into a manhug.
"Listen - I'm pretty sure you're going to get the job, but I wanted to know if you were aware of how the department has changed in the last year, so you know whether you want to accept." Dr Wood continues.
"I was a bit surprised when I came in - what's happened?" Guppy asks, as they head down the corridor.
"Crombie-Fitzgerald ward is gone." Dr Wood says. "You know that they were merging it before, and that we had to cut jobs, well in the end the local authority decided the whole thing should be centralised. All the stroke rehab is now at Queen's, and the people we used to work with have scattered. They want someone to take over Florey ward."
"Florey Ward... that's general elderly?" Guppy asks.
"Partially, but they specialise in dementia and cognitive impairment." Dr Wood says. "Should be quite up your street, actually. You'll have to make cutbacks though, and that might mean jobs, so I just want to make sure you're aware of that."
Guppy nods. Budgets and bureaucracy come with the higher levels of the job. He won't be cutting people out if he can help it, though. He remembers how upset Fran was when it happened to her.
"What's Holby Gold?" he asks, remembering suddenly.
"That's the new Private Wing." Dr Wood says, sighing slightly. "We've lost rather a lot of beds - but it's generating income for the hospital, which we badly need. Dr Sharpe was working on the financial deal before he got arrested for fraud."
Guppy grimaces. It was exactly the sort of thing Dr Sharpe would be involved with. Dr Wood continues quickly.
"Anyway, if Dr Sharpe had stayed away from fraud, he'd now be raking it in. Dr Bell is now in charge of Holby Gold, though she works on the NHS side as well. She's financially minded, but she's a good doctor, so try to keep her on side as best you can."
Guppy nods. "I wish you were staying." he admits. "You'll keep in touch, right? Whether or not I get the job."
"Course I will!" Dr Wood smiles. "You'll be fine, and you can always call if you need advice."
Later that afternoon, Guppy gets the call. He has his first permanent consultant post, and he's got a lot of work to do.
