DICT8 Plus (new November 2022)

[Whitestar55]

Hi, Here we go again, anyone else set up a new thread yet? Hope to find everyone 🙂

@Whitestar55 @Pinksville as far as I am aware a junior doctor is anyone below the level of a consultant, clinical assistant or associate, ie HO, SHO, registrar or GP trainee as they are still learning.

Not had any feedback for a while mainly as I do not type much for DICT8, however had the usual strange feedback this afternoon - dated for letters I did today stating that I did not number after a heading.... I have done 5 letters today, all less than one minute, four were letters to patients and one to GP saying patient did not turn up for appointment. All letters about four or five lines long - not one included a heading! Why do they send such feedback. Why not back up their claims with the heading and my unnumbered list? So - either not my letter, or not from today/ this week, or else, as suspected in the past, just fabricated by proofreader to reach some sort of weekly target. Anyway, I deleted it as useless information if it cannot be checked.

@Whitestar55 I think they dislike being called Juniors as some have years of experience, as I said my task list comprises ST1 to ST4 and FY1, FY2, SHOs and Regs etc., all doing clinics so I think it is old terminology the press are using.

@Gally123 I've had some bizarre feedback this week. Feel sure some of the dates on the feedback I didn't even work ? can't even be bothered to query it 😂

@Pinksville no, I did not query it. I did once years ago, as like you, I had not worked that day and also it was not my specialty, and the proofreader did say then it was an error, but that was before all queries were diverted to she who must be obeyed. They must realise we do not take them seriously.

@Whitestar55 Tpro going fine, lots of work and with 2 weeks to go I’m almost at my target. With the 10% bonus I find it easy to make near what I earned in the NHS a month full time. The work is endless. Their text replacement makes it so quick once you are set up. It’s made a huge difference to my life. With 2 grown up kids back at home since Covid due to redundancies and soaring rents it so much needed. I was thinking today if Dict8 ever fold they will no doubt pick their work up so we’ll all be okay.

@nomadchild Thanks. I was holding off applying to T-pro, but think I might have to. Working for DICT8 is exhausting.

I received a letter yesterday from my local hospital after an appointment. I saw them over a month ago and the letter was dated 12/04/23. I know this department at my local hospital sometimes send work to Dict8 as the Consultant told me so; however, this letter appears to have been typed in-house and took 6 weeks to be typed and sent. It is in one of my Specialties but I have never come across any letters from this department to type through Dict8 in the last 3 years!!!

P>S It's like a lottery, depending where you live, if you receive a letter in a timely manner from a hospital. We are typing letters through Dict8 same day or only a couple of days old; So it seems to me that if a hospital uses Dict8 then they are willing to let backlog of letters to be typed accrue ... that is incredibly outrageous really, regarding patient care and letters being sent out in a timely manner. That is a bug-bear of mine ... we used to get paid x1 and 1/2 overtime weekends to 'type' backlog yet the availability to use Dict8 was there ... I found it rather extraordinary. If we worked through a bank holiday it would be x1 and 1/2 overtime plus a day or two holiday in lieu of working a bank holiday and I know that the Secretaries used to exploit this as a mean of extra earnings. Why do the hospitals allow this to happen? It costs far more in overtime, more stress to patients and GP's than outsourcing. So, yes, we deserve an increase in pay as our earnings ARE far lower.

Well I'm going to have to update my CV, which I'm dreading. I have no idea what to write about myself and I don't enjoy doing it. Hopefully I can get away with a brief one for T-pro and any other opportunities that might pop up.

No work on DICT8, but no incentive to apply to T-pro. I've given up for now, I'll live on grass and fresh air, I hate this boring, low paid work so much.

I have just sent this to my local MP:
I have something I need to say which needs to be raised in the House of Commons ... to me it is very important.

Please respond to this e-mail and I will detail the problems/ We as 'self-employed' are exploited to the Max. Only people with very high qualications as Medical secretaries can work self-employed for out-sourcing companies for NHS/Private. We earn 0.08/per line. The outcome is that we are working Well below the national minimal pay. The company I work for have not increased the 0.08/per line for 13 years plus (and the other outsourcing companies are as culpable in that respect).

It is diabolical and a national disgrace considering the curret clime and Cost of Living Crisis; experienced secretaries with tonnes of knowlege; helping to secure the safety of patients in getting letters out in a timely manner to all arenas of medial care. We are left out on a limb and the strikes are not helping. We/I as expererienced, knowledgable 'recruited' self employed are earning far less than migrants. Without out-sourcing NHS will collapse.

Okay: I have worked within NHS and they pay overtime at time and half to secteraties in-house. Bank holidays they pay time and and 1/2 plus days of in lieue. The NHS system is completely abused (I know: been there seen it)!! I want this raised in parliament/ Backlog: yeah, where I used to work there would be a backlog of 3-4 or more months waiting for letters to be typed. No patient care there.

Why is allowed that as self-employed we earn only £3.50/hour or less It is disgraceful and something needs to be done to stop this exploitation.

I advocate that we ALL write to our MP's to get this matter sorted re, exploitation at it's best. One person cannot speak for 3000 + self-employed Medical audio typists. A higher rate of of abused self-employed who complain will give much more impact, no matter which outsourcing company you work for. We have rights and they need to be heard.

@danblack87 Yeahhhh!!! go for it kiddo! brilliant! Lets hope you get some well deserved reply!
I on the other hand working for Tpro at the moment think I have tuned in to DICT8 and not Tpro as the backlog of dictation I am attempting is absolutely disgraceful! how the hell do these flipping doctors get jobs (this is Tpro not DICT8) cant believe the standard of their shocking dictation. I have been picking up as much as I can and every one is foreign speaking (just like DICT8) and absolutely diabolical to understand!!! There are thousands of letters on the system and these that are the oldest, I am not surprised have been left. I cannot go to any of my usual as for some reason there aren't any so either other transcribers aren't playing fair or they are holding them back so we attempt the other shockers that have got out of hand. It feels like DICT8 all over again but with another company 😩lol! I did some really old ones over the weekend too thinking I was doing my bit but then message today saying please attempt some of the others if we all pick a few then it should go down. I can see the ones over the weekend still there that I was attempting and I haven't segregated the specialities or hospitals so for the last hour I am going searching for some decent stuff as I feel as though I have well and truly done my bit today to help!

@danblack87 thanks for making a stand.

Will be interesting to hear what the reply is. The only thing that is different about DICT8 is the unpaid work they expect of us. Is it legal ?

@danblack87 - well done. I know my local MP is useless - I have told him this before. Anyone know who the minister for employment or similar is? He/she might be a better person to approach.

@carosel2 - do you know which hospitals this backlog is from with TPro? I think some of the team have been in England touting for business/expanding, so these dreadful dictators may be from the same hospitals where DICT8 is used. I have not done any today so not noticed this.

Our case is similar to that of the Uber drivers, but we are low profile and misunderstood. In my opinion transcription companies are employment agencies who take a cut of our earnings, but describe us as freelancers to avoid minimum wage and higher taxes and NI. The people that have power and control are happy about this legal loophole as many of them are involved with these businesses, e.g. the prime minister's wife's father's billionaire company Infosys, appears to run on 'freelancers' when you look into it. These companies make their hundreds, millions and billions by breaking the backs of the minions with the skills required for the company to function.

T-pro seem to want it both ways, freelancers, but supervised like employees as to which tasks to complete, with a specified amount of work expected to be completed per month by the transcribers, a team leader to check in with to be guided on how to do the work, work checked and monitored, but when there is a problem, like when there was very little to no work recently when their was a problem with the client contracts, the transcribers were just dropped and left in limbo with no income.

The loophole needs to be closed and I am very much searching to close it. Just so happened that the MP canvassing the area on Saturday happened to be the brother of my fella's best M8 (who was also there at the time)!!!! How weird is that. I said 'I very much would like to talk to you about an issue. Typical 'Tory' says "well we are just putting leaflets through the door and we don't have time today!!! 'Excuse me, yes you have time if you want votes and I very much would like to talk to you' ... to which, my fella's M8 came to the door and said 'fuck me, that is my brother!!!' So, said Counsellor had not choice but to come in ... !!!! How is that for fate!!!!?

Ignore my typos please, it always happens when I'm one finger typing on my phone 😂

@danblack87 ah but was fate smiling? Did he agree the situation was wrong and that he would try to help?

I have started working for a company doing just about the same type of work and as a freelancer, but they pay an hourly rate so much easier. You know exactly where you stand money wise and there is no looking at an empty screen waiting for tasks. If they can do it, then I am sure the likes of Dict8, Tpro and Accuro (the worst culprits for low pay) could.

@Chrissols Does your new job involve medical transcription or something else?

@Whitestar55 all medical