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.

www.nursingtimes.net/news/reviews-and-reports/similarity-of-nhs-care-scandals-sobering-says-nurse-academic-20-11-2019/

Ok and in fairness are you going to post links to articles from other countries, or are you just going to keep bashing away at the NHS and U.K.?

Did OP see the responses and acknowledge they were totally U? If so, well done. If not. You don't seem like a very nice person. Butt the fuck out.

Why are you so defensive about anyone pointing out the myriad problems? It's a health care system. Not a religion.

He's not married and has no family: this wasn't a family holiday.

What the actual fuck ?

I think nhs bashing is a Bovary hobby, at best ignored. Some people do find your posts distressing, maybe have a think why you get enjoyment from this.

He doesn't have a wife, he doesn't have children to look after and take into account, he doesn't even have elderly parents depending on him. He's one of the least stressed people I know.

Oh my. You do sound like a good friend indeed.

You need to cop yourself on.

It’s absolutely none of your business how someone uses their annual leave. If you have evidence that he is behaving unprofessionally in any way or defrauding the NHS by taking leave to which he’s not entitled, then contact the relevant complaints department instead of putting snarky posts on Mumsnet. This is nothing more than curtain twitching.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/02/amber-rose-isaac-new-york-childbirth-death

therealnews.com/stories/scandals-show-how-lack-of-oversight-make-us-healthcare-the-most-expensive-in-the-world

You might find this one particularly interesting as it covers some of the tragic outcomes from unavailable insurance for low economic mothers:

www.nytimes.com/2020/07/13/upshot/maternal-deaths-policy-neglect.html

Poor treatment of cancer patients: www.beckershospitalreview.com/legal-regulatory-issues/california-hospital-pushed-end-of-life-care-on-cancer-patients-oncologist-s-lawsuit-claims.html

Germany failed to check the qualifications of this man: www.bmj.com/content/359/bmj.j5020

And this German nurse killed over 100 patients: www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/30/german-nurse-serial-killer-niels-hoegel-on-trial-100-patients-deaths

Australia: www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/apr/06/st-vincents-hospitals-chemotherapy-scandal-sparks-call-for-inquiry

www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/serious-health-and-medical-mistake-rate-highest-in-three-years-20191122-p53d6e.html

@JalapenoDave

"He's not married and has no family: this wasn't a family holiday" Are you saying single or childless people are not entitled to a holiday?

Even worse, they don't have families either, apparently. It's been some years since I was either single or child free, but certainly at the time I was under the impression I was part of a family.

So @BovaryX as you see hospital scandals are available worldwide to take your pick from. Two minutes of googling showed me that no one healthcare system is superior to any other.

I don't see that it's any of your business what he does with his annual leave to be honest.

Lolz at your obsession with him not having a wife or a family? So what? I’ve not kids yet either so I use my child free years to enjoy myself as much as possible - lots of travel and fun activities.

Surely he’s using his annual leave which he’s entitled too! Leave the poor man alone 😂

@Pomegranatepompom

I think nhs bashing is a Bovary hobby, at best ignored. Some people do find your posts distressing, maybe have a think why you get enjoyment from this.

I have had relatives killed by the NHS. Why don't you think about why you are so anxious to silence criticism of it? Your attitude is really peculiar. But it seems endemic amongst a certain kind of NHS employee.

We NHS employees have been given instructions for taking holidays to countries where quarantine is imposed. We can go ahead and take the holiday (plus a 2 week quarantine period afterwards) provided quarantine wasn’t in place at the time we booked it and that we are then refused a refund. If you booked it against that criteria you can take 2 weeks unpaid leave or your remaining annual leave. If you can work at home during the paid quarantine period you should. He will be able to work from home if not taking annual leave, to cover clinics remotely, do research, study, management and so on.

Why the hell are his domestic circumstances relevant?! You sound hugely judgey and rather unpleasant. Poor chap is likely to need a complete break and it's up to him where, how and when he takes it. YABVVVU.

I agree 100% with you op!

Oh I wouldn’t want to silence anyone - if anyone is not receiving excellent care that needs to be followed up and rectified.
As to your assumptions on my character, desist. You have no idea at all.
You really are quite obsessed with being negative about the nhs. Perhaps your insurance can help you work through that? It must be quite stressful.

You are incapable of replying without being abusive. If you are actually in the NHS, I feel sorry for your patients. The NHS is failing its patients. And it is run for its employees. Your attitude epitomizes its self serving contempt for the people it is meant to serve

And you call others abusive? I've worked in the NHS in clinical, management, strategic, recruitment, staff wellbeing and public health roles.

I've seen people run into the ground because of their work pressures. I was thinking this morning of clinical staff I worked with at one trust. Five of them committed suicide. FIVE.

I've seen consultant on the edge because of their workloads, many in specialties that have been, and continue to be, hard to recruit to (regardless of the party in government at the time). I've seen 2 paediatric oncologists try to manage a service between the two of them because they couldn't recruit. I've seen juniors in tears because they are covering gaps in rotas. I've had a junior doctor hand me the on call bleep (I'm not a doctor) because there was noone else to give it to and he couldn't do any more, he was too tired.

I'm sufffering from permanent heath issues as result of years of clinical work. My back is completely knackered. Every organisation has its slackers, incompetent people and rude people. But the vast majority of staff work bloody hard and do their very best. For others. Not themselves. As for the NHS being shut, that's nonsense. I agree there was an issue, but the majority of services are returning to normal after the biggest health crisis in a century. Karol Sikora is talking about what has been happening during that time, not what's happening now.

Oh and to the OP, I hope your friend reads your post and works out who you are. Because I somehow doubt you've dared to say it to his face.

No @BovaryX you had relatives killed by incompetent medical practitioners who happened to work for the NHS. Which can happen anywhere in the world. I think your mock anger with the Nhs needs replacing to the people who were not doing their job well.

It is everyone's job to have take some responsibility and not to go to places that require quarantine that will leave others struggling.

This, really. He didn't have to go to Greece yesterday. He could, like his mate, have decided to make alternative arrangements but he didn't.

Let's just hope that all the 'he's within his rights' lot here don't have appointments at his clinic over the next few weeks. He can't really do what he needs to without seeing most of his patients, particularly those who are in more immediate need of treatment.

For those who picture him as some burnt-out wraith, he had three weeks in Thailand over Christmas and New Year and has been sailing in the Med for at least a week this summer. He's also by his own account had more time available to go cycling than any other spring/summer. I mentioned the lack of family and his pay scale so that it was clear there was no outside pressure on him to go and that he could afford to cancel if need be.

We are all paying this man's salary. I employ people. I would expect better judgment from an employee of mine.

I mentioned it wasn't a family holiday to indicate that he wasn't constrained by obligations to a partner or children.

Nobody is. We don't have some kind of right to a foreign holiday. Plenty of us stayed home this year (and will do a more expensive holiday next year with the saved money).

I employ people. I would expect better judgment from an employee of mine.

You don't employ NHS staff.
You have no right to dictate what someone does in their spare time or while on leave even if you do employ them!

How unpleasant op. Your latest posts reeks of bitterness and jealousy. I don’t think you can really call yourself a friend.

@GetOffYourHighHorse

'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

Close relative is a respiratory physio for NHS and has been instructed to run all clinics and appointments by phone. As you can imagine he is quite busy with a full rota of patients, but bizarrely hasn’t had to leave the house to keep on top of their caseload so you are very mistaken if you think it is not feasible.