I see that you've called out consultants for having a lack of vocation and professionalism. I want to tell you why this annoys me so much and no it's not because I know that inevitably you will also target nurses at some point.
I've grown up having a lot of involvement from NHS health professionals and sure there are many many ways the NHS could be improved including 7 day service. In fact I've sat in those elective meetings about how to do this alongside health professionals 2 days before Christmas. It's far from perfect but I want to tell you about the consultants I grew up with (all of whom worked on this 'unfair' contract).
I want to tell you about the consultant who was on call 24/7 because he was the only specialist in the hospital. The same consultant who came into hospital in 15 minutes when I was admitted on a Saturday morning. He was on his day off , although he did regularly work weekends and nights, and about to go on a day out with his family. Instead he spent it , more than likely unpaid, treating me and didn't complain about it once. The same consultant who spent his annual leave time on holidays for kids with diabetes and no he's not an exception. I know many Dr's and other health professionals who do similar with diabetes camps or camps such as overthewall.
Or the consultant who works across 3 hospitals and fits us in even when we don't have appointments. clinics run late because he never rushes a patient. If we need an extra 10 minutes we get it and the majority of patients understand that because if they have an issue they get seen or they take a bit longer.The same consultant who fought to get us a decent diabetes service with a specialist nurse. The consultant who once spent 3 hours teaching me all my diabetes education again. Even when he goes home he phones to check on the newly diagnosed patients. Oh and he also works weekends.
I want to tell you about when I was 15 and broke my back. It was 11 am on a Saturday and funnily I was seen by a consultant and I also got an x-ray and CT scan which seems implausible if you believe Mr Goves story in the telegraph earlier this week. Unfortunately , due to no fault of the medical team, I deteriorated over night. At 8 am on a Sunday I was transferred to what was effectively HDU. I had 8 paediatric Drs and nurses in that room with me including consultants. Not only providing excellent medical care but a senior Dr was there holding my hand to calm me down too. Not only that but that afternoon was seen on the ward round by the orthopaedic consultant and was seen daily by them as well as the paediatric team.
I want to tell you about the time I sat in a room full of 200 health professionals specialised in diabetes and how passionate and engaged they were at improving care. They spent 3 days of what was either study leave or possibly annual leave to spend hundreds of pounds to be at this conference purely to make themselves better doctors , nurses etc and to ensure they give the best care to their patients. They also spend hundreds of pounds of their own money to sit their exams on top of mountains of student debt from university.
Not to mention the doctors I'm incredibly lucky to work with and learn from. The consultants who are regularly on at the weekend. The consultants who provide world class care.
Although all of these people could be paid far far better in other countries and treated a lot better too. They stay. They stay because of their patients. They stay because they care. I owe my life to them. So don't ever tell me that doctors have lost their sense of vocation or professionalism. Especially not as you take a 7 week holiday and a 10% pay rise.
I want to tell you about the time I sat in a room full of 200 health professionals specialised in diabetes and how passionate and engaged they were at improving care. They spent 3 days of what was either study leave or possibly annual leave to spend hundreds of pounds to be at this conference purely to make themselves better doctors , nurses etc and to ensure they give the best care to their patients. They also spend hundreds of pounds of their own money to sit their exams on top of mountains of student debt from university.
Not to mention the doctors I'm incredibly lucky to work with and learn from. The consultants who are regularly on at the weekend. The consultants who provide world class care.
Although all of these people could be paid far far better in other countries and treated a lot better too. They stay. They stay because of their patients. They stay because they care. I owe my life to them. So don't ever tell me that doctors have lost their sense of vocation or professionalism. Especially not as you take a 7 week holiday and a 10% pay rise.
But still more people die in hospital at weekends because of lack of appropriate staff. One swallow doesn't make a summer.
ReplyDeleteuntrue actually. you are 8% less likely to die on a weekend. you're more likely to die in the following 30 days if admitted on weekend. (very different conclusions) https://juniordoctorblog.wordpress.com/2015/07/18/weekend-mortality-and-the-7-day-nhs/ however as many hcp have said. yes we need to be appropriately staffed but consultants don't operate as a one man show. it needs physio, SALT, social work etc
ReplyDeleteYes- unfortunately brockleft1 the information the Tories and their media partners have fed you which you refer to above is false. They have misinterpreted data from a very good study, cherry-picked a bit that suits their purpose and misinterpreted it and used it in a very misleading way to persuade us- the general public- that what they are trying to do has to do with improving patient safety. It doesn't- it has to do with cutting costs. But doctors and nurses and countless other healthcare professionals and countless reviews and recommendations can and do try to tell the government what is really needed to improve patient care and improve seven day services. Unfortunately the government aren't interested in listening and engaging with clinicians but prefer to give orders from above. Medical staff are crying out that these measures are missing the point but the government are keen for the general public to lose faith in the clinicians to make it easier for them to continue to impose their orders from above. It is depressing how efficiently they are able to do this just by distorting the data and refusing to address the real questions of what needs improving and why and how to to it
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