Yabu as I think (hope) you now know. However these were my thoughts as I rtft:
“I think doctors have no idea what it is to work in a job where you can be
sacked easily” - drs can also be suspended and sacked easily if accused of something with little to no evidence sometimes. False accusations and complaints can seriously damage and lose them not only a job but their entire career which they’ll have trained 7+ years for
“Most senior Drs have a deep seated fear of ever incurring a GMC complaint. Even if totally unjustified it is guilty until proven innocent. A malicious complaint can destroy your whole career very easily. There was a recent investigation into the high number of Drs who kill themselves whilst involved in GMC proceedings.”
“where your employers have no interest in getting you back to work after a career break” - this deal they’re striking over is especially punitive to women
“And where you either have no pension or the value of your pension can fall from year to year and be worth nothing”. - also happening to them for years
“I also think they don't realise that, whilst a generation ago doctors might have been unusual in working antisocial hours, nowadays all professionals are expected to be available all the time”. - but they are paid for it. This deal means they may not get paid at all for some o/t plus it means drs working excessive hours which is dangerous to patients!
“For women, medicine is a far better career than law or business because the NHS allows them to work part time and wants them back after they've had babies.” Where the hell have you got that idea from?! I'm ex NHS and I can assure you there is massive pressure even if you do manage to get a p/t contract to work full time hours with little to no regard for childcare or other caring responsibilities.
“radio station I listen to or the newspapers I read.” curious, which ones?
“But lots of GPs work part time don't they?” again, officially maybe, the reality is many are working till 10/11pm at home catching up on paperwork, researching patient conditions and meds and treatments…
“Have you ever tried to find childcare that starts at 0630 for a 7am start?!?” or for midnight finish, irregular nightshifts…
“Who is running these hospitals” incompetent numpties who have no front line experience within healthcare. Seriously I worked in one hospital where the ceo was something like a car manufacturer previously! And that's not DM fuelled management bashing its my personal experience.
“And would all drs really make a living privately if the NHS collapsed? Personally I doubt it. Setting up in business for yourself is not as easy as sticking up a sign and waiting for the patients to come to you.” Think this poster misunderstood. If NHS abolished private companies would take over the hospitals (like America) and you'd have to pay for each and every service you received. Your bed being changed, floor mopped, bins emptied, every ob taken etc also a la America you'd be lucky to get seen unless an emergency without expensive health insurance. Insurance companies won't cover new drugs and treatments…
“would be incredibly arrogant to think we could manage without our colleagues.” a lot of people definitely don't get this. If things were to go hunts way this would also have an effect on administrators, porters, radiographers, lab Tech's, phlebotomists, physios…not to mention hcp’s, nurses and midwives
“The issue is very simple. Money” actually I'd say greed! Particularly sickening given the recent announcement that Cameron's getting a fucking private jet!!
Fyi Jeremy hunts office is iirc open mon-fri 9-1630 and close earlier on a Fri.
Yes you've had a difficult time OP with getting a diagnosis but bear in mind the following:
When a patient presents a Dr is essentially presented with a box with something in it. They have to figure out what's in that box without being able to look inside or ‘shake’ the box.
They can ask questions but the answers they receive may be irrelevant, misleading, lies or the patient has misunderstood the question. This is even more likely when patients Google their symptoms and eg refuse to accept a bad headache is more likely to be the beginnings of a migraine than a tumour.
In addition each symptom has iirc an average of 50 possible conditions causing them.
“Workers rights are being abused across the board, if more people joined unions there would be more protection for all. If unions could get involved there'd be none of the zero hours rubbish. We should be supporting the Doctors striking not moaning about it, same with transport workers strikes, public sector the lot. I really don't understand why more shop workers don't join their union - they are so vulnerable. Rights that have been fought for over many decades are being dismissed because people don't join unions and therefore the unions have less and less influence.” Agreed. Think people have forgotten that unions aren't just strike machines! Unions got laws changed especially regarding age of workers, pay equality, maternity rights etc
mamadoc good on you!
“I'm a consultant. I have actively been encouraging my juniors to strike”.
Scooby
“I always felt nurses should have gone on strike in the past but they wouldn't because they had the patient's welfare at heart. So we have not enough nurses doing ridiculous hours, yeah, great for the patients.” Also because as a mainly female workforce they are more likely to be vilified, criticised and penalised upon return to work.
“Also potentially a recipe for bullying?” Lots of bullying and pressure to cover things up in nhs
“The public happily campaigns for more bobbies on the beat. Would a campaign for more front line staff not be effective?” Police getting major cuts too - and they're not allowed to strike!
“The working world has changed and not for the better.” in the UK. I've lived in Europe and many of us holiday there. I can think of several countries where many things simply aren't open on a Sunday and only half day on a Saturday as family and free time is values! Tories in particular seem to want to run UK like a sweatshop!
“poorbuthappy
Why not ? Do people only get ill between 9 and 5 Monday to Friday?”
No, but excepting genuine emergencies and hospitalised and therefore seriously ill patients most things can wait! There are numerous threads by infuriated mners who know of people who use gp/a&e when there's clearly no bloody need!
“Of course we can't be seen to waste public funds but there must be some token ways we could do this.” I wouldn't see minor contribution towards morale as wasting money.
Any USA dwellers - it might be really enlightening to hear costs of healthcare in USA (as Tories seem to want us to head toward that system?) Eg how much is a visit to a gp? How much for a standard 7 day script for amoxycillin/painkillers? How much for a visit to a&e with a child who's bumped their head? How much for childbirth?
Imho given this tory govt have persecuted/are persecuting -
All emergency services
The NHS in general
Civil servants in general
Education
Sick, disabled and LP (aka me! LOVE the villification I constantly get in the media, doesn't make my health worse AT ALL!
I personally think a general strike would be a bloody good idea! Actually I think a fucking revolution is in order!