What a spell of hot weather we are having. Apart from the gardens needing more water, it being very uncomfortable to sleep every night and sometimes it’s hard to breathe – oh and I’m stuck in the office all day – but apart from that, it’s great isn’t it. But why is it that the shorts I wore all last year, well on the few hot days we had last year, seem to have shrunk. OK, they were a little snug, but the wardrobe shrink monster has really been to work! Or is it that I’ve stored a little too much ‘protection’ over winter, despite promising to go the Gym and eat properly it could be that I have expanded just a touch. So I’ve decided to save money, not by new shorts – simply slim back into the old ones. And as luck would have it Watford has been chosen to stage one of a series of events aimed at getting children and young families in the town to Change4Life by getting fitter and healthier in 2010. The event will be held at the Harlequin Shopping Centre in Watford, on Weds, 4 August. Some of my colleagues will be there to offer health advice and information about free fun initiatives and NHS supported activities in the area.

And talking about the NHS, what do you make of all the proposed changes? We are told that patients will get more information and choice about their care – in future (and I like this phrase) ‘there will be no decisions about me without me’. Doctors are empowered to deliver results – putting them in charge of what services best meet the needs of local people and finally, removing unnecessary bureaucracy (ok, who shouted out my name at this point…unkind lot you are), cutting waste to make the NHS more efficient. Whatever the outcome, your local NHS is and always will be focussed on providing top quality safe care for patients. It has a dedicated and professional workforce that will not compromise on patient safety. Anyway, I’m off to catch the wardrobe shrink monster before he gets to work on my speedos - of course, I’ll be jogging all the way and will run straight by the pub – honest!