Weaponising MumsNet

[QwertyNurse]

Hi,

Thought this might be the right board as you're the likely target of the tactics.

There's something of a war raging in healthcare at the moment. Some of it relates to the strikes for better pay and some of it is about patriarchy in healthcare.

Over on the UK Doctors subreddit there is a plan to stir up fear in the public first toward Physician Associates and then any other healthcare professional who is working in an advanced practice role. Nurses are often part of their focus but it's been less popular than their campaigns about PAs.

Understandably, everyone wants to be seen by someone qualified and safe.

The idea is to upset and worry mothers and other members of the public about these roles by highlighting and focusing on examples of mistakes made and to weaponise MumsNet activists.

Some of you may agree with the doctor campaigns but I think it's worth knowing when you see some of these articles that there's an agenda and you're potentially being exploited to suit that agenda. Or, at least, an attempt is being made.

It's 'Mumsnet', not 'MumsNet'.

to weaponise MumsNet activists.

I feel left out of a club. Why didn't anyone invite me to be an activist? 😕

I’ve got no issues with someone saying they are going to use Mumsnet in this way. If anyone can persuade this contrarian bunch of vipers to express outrage about their cause, they probably have a point.

Way to miss the point.

My dh died of cancer last year, most of the gp’s and hospital jnr drs, consultants, consultant surgeons were incredibly bad at their jobs & dismissive towards him because he had a trachy and couldn’t speak so they treated him like shit despite knowing I’m a HCP.

I say we let PA have a go, it literally can’t get any worse & I pity Australia getting our drs. Their med neg lawyers are in for a bumper pay day.

I knew it could be bad after 23 ears in healthcare, I’ve seen some cock ups over the years but bloody hell their in a race to the bottom & competing hard with each other to win in the UK.

I don't think it's weaponising Mumsnet unless there is a plan to disseminate misinformation widely here? If people want to debate the pros and cons of Physician Associates they're free to do so.

I see quite a lot of concern expressed about PAs on social media but a lot of that seems to be the GMC being forced to accredit them (issue a GMC number which sounds wrong to me) but not regulate them.

Yes, I agree. While everything on here should be taken with a pinch of salt before you act or make big decisions based on it, I think evidenced discussions aren't necessarily a bad thing.

There was a thread about PAs not long ago - I'd not heard of them before.

I find it a bit patriarchal that you would assume that us silly mumsnetters would not be able to read around topic, use our brains to find out more information and make some reasoned judgements about this potential issue.

Well yes, but on that basis it’s also patriarchal for the quoted reddit poster to assume they can drum up outraged MN posts.

People who use MN are not less intelligent or more easily manipulated than anyone else.

@minipie yes indeed, although they presumably are not here on this thread to tell so.

Some posters do seem to be absolute weapons....

Tbf it did work with the whole trans/GC thing. Depends if 'weaponising' is meant in an exploitative manner or is just referring to the effectiveness - sort of like saying "we need a few big burly men to have a word with him".

Nobody is weaponising PA roles. You are gaslighting people into accepting them, OP, in your sneaky opening post.

Not all people agree that patients prefer or should put up with medical care from non medics. People bringing it in do not want it for their own families. GP practices sometimes pretend to you that you are seeing a doctor ("a medic") when you are not.

Doctors I know are coming across some fairly hair raising stories of situations where people in these new roles make wrong or dangerous medical decisions through lack of knowledge.

I think PAs are not the route forward, they don’t have the same training as Drs and need all their work checked by a Dr , causing even more work for actual Drs.
to add insult to injury, they have less training and better salaries than a lot of junior Drs.

I got a gp appointment to look at a nasty eye infection which 2 courses of chloramphenicol hadn’t shifted. Except when I turned up I was put in ftont of a paramedic. Now paramedics have great skills in certain areas. I would be delighted to see one if I was having a heart attack or stroke or was bleeding or suspected a fracture. But they don’t know any more about eye infections than my cat. As displayed when he opened up the nhs website on eye infections and looked at it confusedly.

if non medics are going to be used in frontline roles in primary care they should only be given work that they are trained and capable of doing. For PAs that is taking bloods, taking a history in advance of seeing a gp, assisting with advice on lifestyle changes, follow up care etc. They should not be within a million miles of diagnosis and they should not be introducing themselves as “one of the medics” and pretending to be a Dr when they are regulated by precisely no-one.

@QwertyNurse how’s your agenda to rile up mimsnet going?