Poll: Doctors strike tomorrow, do you support it?
- Thread starter Dr House
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That's what I mean. They grew up in a bubble, private school, fair number of them have studied Classics at oxbridge (in this case, Mr Hunt studied PPE) and start deciding on things they don't fully understand. Maybe they could recite some quotes by Plato. They'd probably help them out.
Soldato
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Really good support this morning on the picket line. So many warm and supporting comments from a whole range of people; patients, general public and other healthcare workers. I think today was the most well attended picket line too. Yesterday was a bit of slog mind you on my ward, didn't get away until 7pm trying to make sure as much work was done as possible to ease pressure today.
Soldato
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Voted no - disgraceful behaviour, they know when they train to be a doctor its not a 9-5 Monday to Friday job, they get paid far more than a lot of people do, they need to get a grip and actually save lives on every day of the week not just when it suits them.
That's what I think too
Haven't really thought about this much but if I understand it right (I maybe wrong) would simply more money settle it?
No.
They signed up knowing that they would work odd hours, but that they should get paid something akin to a professionals salary, and with sufficient support from the management to do the job.
What they didn't do was sign up to a job where someone in power would decide to arbitrarily reduce their effective income, increase the number of hours they work, and remove protections against them being exploited by a management who know they aren't likely to say "well it's the end of my shift, bye".
They save lives every day, even on strike days (they have maintained emergency cover).
What they are asking is that their working conditions don't get sent down the pan because an egocentric political idealist can't understand that you can't offer a full 7 day service when you don't have the staff or finances to cover a full 5 day service and a partial 2 day service.
It's also worth taking note that where extended hours and "full 7 day services" have been tried in other parts of the NHS, they have IIRC found that the average patient doesn't want a scheduled appointment on a weekend*, so money tends to have been wasted putting resources into services that are under utilised because people didn't want to see a doctor on a Saturday morning, at the expense of the weekday service..
I can't see many jobs where the staff would have done as much as the Doctors and Consultants have to reduce the impact of the strikes on the people that rely on them.
Hunt is lucky that all the medical staff involved are determined to not let lives be lost whilst the strikes go on and giving notice to allow for some form of short term alternative to be found to provide cover.
I suspect if there was a major incident would be off the picket lines and in the doors within seconds of being asked.
*My father had to have an MRI a couple of years back, they asked if he was willing to go in at short notice, out of hours or on a weekend, he said yes (they were surprised). From memory he got in within about 3 weeks, the wait for a weekday appointment in normal hours was something like 2-3 times that long (non urgent), apparently people didn't want scheduled appointments on a weekend, or after something like 6pm on a weekday. The same thing happened for another scan - the "off hours" queue at a different hospital was significantly shorter than the normal one, so it obviously wasn't unusual.
Caporegime
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What utter nonsense - we work every day of the week, day and night. There is no element of the current contract that "suits me" let alone the new one.
Just because I know my job wasn't a 9-5 when I started does that give the Government a free pass to do whatever it wants to my contract? No.
Caporegime
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No. Pay is a major factor (not more I must stress - simply the pay cut that is part of the contract), but there are also major concerns about the stripping out of protection from working extra hours unpaid, inequality of pay for part time workers, obnoxious shift patterns, thinning out weekday cover and dropping recruitment into medicine.
Plus the fact that the Tory 7 day working pledge hasn't been set out, they have no idea what staffing is needed, how it will be funded, what impact it will have on weekday cover and they've attacked the people who already do the majority of 7 day cover.
Caporegime
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We had a great turn out in Leicester, loads of public support, people stopping to talk to us and lots of honking.
Also I think the press are finally getting on board largely.
Caporegime
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It's just a political football now, the Government don't see it as a health issue, just a strike that must be broken at any cost.
Soldato
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People aren't allowed to be ill at the weekend.
Are you suggesting they pick and choose when to save a life, really?
Soldato
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If you go into a hospital on a weekend with something serious mortality rates are much higher, coincidence? Or logical when you have far less doctors working?
You swallowed that did you.
Plenty of people far more qualified than me and you have torn that claim to shreds.
Jeremy? Is that you?
Would you guys be happy with no change to pay/hours and just more staff?
I.e.. Doing it properly?