NHS consultant flies to Greek island despite quarantine

[kumquat365]

Name change for this. DH and I have a friend who is an NHS consultant at the top of the pay scale whose service is short-staffed and has spoken to us about the unnecessary deaths caused by lack of cover in his speciality.

He's a keen swimmer and cyclist and booked to go on an activity-style holiday with a friend. He's not married and has no family: this wasn't a family holiday. They were booked to go to an upmarket activity holiday centre on a Greek island that in the last few days has been put on the quarantine list by both Scotland and Wales. The flight was due to depart late yesterday afternoon. Our friend's mate, who is a medic based in England, decided not to risk it and dropped out. Our friend, who works in one of the countries that had declared a 14-day quarantine on return, went in the knowledge he'd have to quarantine on return.

AIBU to feel shocked and disappointed? He's complained so much about shortages of staff in his specialism and he's just taken a decision that will mean it's even worse.

GetOffYourHighHorse, how do you know that he will be on his laze arse during his quarantine?

Ironic user name, under the circumstances

Rarely comment on posts, but god I fucking loathe people like you. Poor man, with friends like you who needs enemies?

The bigger issue from his point of view is that his travel insurance will not cover him if he choses to travel in to an area the Foreign Office advises against.

Oh stop being so dramatic. They are allowed. Just not to places that need quarantine on their return

Except he is allowed - by his employer. It is the OP and people like her who want to stop him. It is his business and his employer's how he uses his time - no one else's.

Perhaps he was totally exhausted and burned out - to the extent that he was worried he was going to become a risk to his patients.

We can none of us know exactly how someone else is feeling.

If he has no wife to family, he is going home to an empty house and no-one to unburden himself to. He might be at the very end of his tether.

Don't judge too harshly - perhaps he will need the extra two weeks to pull himself round, too.

@BovaryX the nhs is not “closed”. If it were closed I’d be having a great old time on holiday right now, but my colleagues and I are very much still working. Just as we have been all the way through, although there were slow downs (And yes, many many cancelled clinics whilst we figured out how to run them virtually) as so many colleagues were re-deployed elsewhere to cover pressure areas. We’re currently in a “catch up” phase to try to clear back log before the winter pressures start.

There’s every chance the consultant that OP is whining about will continue to work from home whilst quarantined.

exactly,
his line manager has agreed,
he can take his two weeks as has been agreed,
wfh or not

There is a great article in The Telegraph about the unfolding scandal because the NHS is closed. Where is the media outrage about its ongoing failure? How many people will die because of cancelled cancer treatments? Cancelled appointments? Nowhere else in the developed world is pulling this stunt. Nowhere.

Nowhere else has the NHS

@CitizenFame absolutely agree with you. So many people loving their busybody role 🙁

Thete are some misconceptions upthread

He will not be exempt from quarantine on his return. He will have to take extra annual leave, unpaid leave or work from home.

Current England rules from:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-travellers-exempt-from-uk-border-rules/coronavirus-covid-19-travellers-exempt-from-uk-border-rules

"Registered health or care professionals
The exemption from the requirement to self-isolate for registered health or care professionals was removed on Friday 31 July 2020.

If you fall into this group and you arrived in England on or after 31 July you will need to self-isolate if you visited or made a transit stop in a country or territory that is not on the travel corridors list in the 14 days before your arrival".

Thats said IMHO if the holiday arrangements are all above board, accounted for and iaw with all the applicable rules I don't see that what this healthcare professional does is anybody else's business...

BovaryX the nhs is not “closed”

So Alison Pearson's article is a lie? All the people in the comments describing cancelled operations and appointments are lying? Professor Sikora is lying when he expresses his ongoing concern about cancelled cancer treatments is making it up? There are no problems or delays with accessing medical care? Is that what you are saying? What colour is the sky on your planet?

You sound really horrible, just mind your own business.

God, maybe the guy just wants to be away from all the xenophobic, doom-mongering, judgemental, negative AF, wannabe informant busybodies here for a bit. Who could blame him? I'd be out the door behind him if I could. PMSL @ this alternative in Scotland. Midgies, rain, single digit temps at night, freezing cold water v. Greece? No contest.

The NHS can’t stop you going on holiday or the quarantine time but we don’t have to pay people for the quarantine.

We are making people use their remaining leave for the quarantine time or they have to take unpaid. If they take unpaid then still have 2 weeks leave left this is not fair to everyone else at work and even more leave to roster on later in the year which is why it’s your annual leave that is taken first. Or if you can work from home for 2 weeks then no leave is needed and you are still counting as working

Where I work not many people have chosen to do this to be fair, but people are desperate for holidays before the winter hits.

@iklboo

There is a great article in The Telegraph about the unfolding scandal because the NHS is closed. Where is the media outrage about its ongoing failure? How many people will die because of cancelled cancer treatments? Cancelled appointments? Nowhere else in the developed world is pulling this stunt. Nowhere.

Nowhere else has the NHS

That's right. We have a system where I pick up the phone and make an appointment at my choosing with the doctor of my choosing. It's called health insurance.

Why would you name change unless of course you know you are being unreasonable

Of course he can use his annual leave as he wants, nothing to to do with you

You are perfectly justified in your anger, kumquat365.

An NHS consultant should not take a holiday and quarantine. In fact, a NHS consultant should not take a holiday as we know that the NHS is short-staffed. Why should we properly fund our health services in the UK when we can simply demand that NHS consultants work every weekend and sleep fewer hours to make up for any shortfalls.

Also, I'm sure Scotland is just as warm as Greece at this time of year for a swimming and cycling holiday. Guaranteed blue skies and temperatures of over 25 degree and all.

You are a real genius and are onto something here, kumquat365.

'how do you know that he will be on his laze arse during his quarantine Ironic user name, under the circumstances'

Well quarantine by its nature means people are housebound and therefore not seeing patients.

There are soo many threads on mn about the nhs needing to get back up and running and here we have a load of people approving of a skiving Dr! He has gone knowing he has to quarantine.

I get that all the time about my name btw. Not very original

That's right. We have a system where I pick up the phone and make an appointment at my choosing with the doctor of my choosing. It's called health insurance.

Nice if you can afford it. Not so good for people in poverty.

OP, so you like someone with responsibility For possibly thousands of lives to work in a highly stressful job (with high suicide numbers) to work for months with no downtime? Right before winter pressures plus Covid round 2 kick in?

YABVU.
Doctors are human beings too.

BovaryX The hospital I work in is back to 96% capacity so definitely not closed 🤣🤣🤣. Oncology treatment has continued through COVID. A lot of the delays to treatment are due to fears about bringing vulnerable patients on site. Also many patients are not presenting with health problems because they are so frightened of COVID. Our hospital has opened clinics in non health care settings across the city in order to keep seeing patients in as safe as possible settings. It’s been a phenomenal achievement but just keep knocking the overpaid managers working all hours to make it happen.

@Pacif1cDogwood There are several insurers still offering cover. It's more expensive than usual, but readily available.

Well quarantine by its nature means people are housebound and therefore not seeing patients.

But AGAIN it doesn't mean he's not working. Not all consultations need to be hands on. Quite a few consultants don't see patients themselves on every occasion - one of their team does and then the patient is discussed at the MDT.