Doctor's striking?

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Westi
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The hospital is going into melt down at the thought of covering the junior (& as I found out today quite senior) doctors. Not 100% sure of my thoughts on their strike action, but I'm not the one going to be affected by the drop of controls of hours worked & loss of money.

Am reassured that everyone is doing what they can to cover the gap but the 'Do no Harm' vow taken by health care professionals might be pushed a bit! A Nurse Practitioner as good as they are, is not a like for like substitute but the consultants are going to be all over it.

Unfortunately our Minister for Health is a bit out of touch with the reality of hospital working but I kind of think this is a bit of a gift to them to use as propaganda. I've striked before in Aussie, but it was a rota system & wards & departments were covered by those on days off etc & only a couple of hours on the line & it reaped the required results.

Any thoughts??
Westi
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dan3008
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My uncle's juniors (he's an orthopaedic surgeon) are striking, and hes well angry about it. But the one blessing is that they arnt striking like the miners strikes or anything. Its more like the fire service strikes. They are still carrying out emergency care ect, and no one at my local A&E are striking (I was up there last week and was chatting to a junior and asked about it) so I hope thats going to be standard accross the uk... Thats my understanding. Whatever the case, I just hope it gets sorted soon

--edit--

Just reread your post, so you are/were a hospital worker? Hope you had a better job than I did when I worked at the hospital here... Best description is drug runner (running everything to the wards from pharmacy) over worked and on minimum wage :( Thats why I quit and went back to St Johns Ambulance lol
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Catherine
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I don't know about hospitals, Westi, getting an appointment with our doctor is difficult in the extreme. We ring, we get the receptionist, who asks why you want to see the doctor!! Then you have to tell her and then you have to be triaged to the Nurse Practitioner who decides if you can see the Doctor, or her.!!!! Not impressed, our doctor is more interested in botox etc. :shock:
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I've just had twelve days in hospital, I could not have wished for better care all the staff from cleaners to consultants where brilliant, I find it hard to believe people will not suffer with the strikes despite all the promises made, it must be very hard for such hard working and caring people to go on strike
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oldherbaceous
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I'd like to see any M.P, train and work such long hours for the same money.
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robo
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I did not want to get political but I think our prime minister should spend some time working in an A an E as the direction we are going in is going to get them very busy with casualties from terrorism
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Why are junior doctors having to work such long hours anyway? Aren't there enough of them to cover the work? Are they complaining that they won't be earning enough if they work a normal, safe amount of hours? When my son was in the children's hospital I was shocked to see a young doctor with his white coat over his pyjamas, stubble, his hair all over the place and obviously half asleep, doing the ward round. That is quite a few years ago, but it doesn't sound as if things have improved much.

I've probably missed the main reason why they are wanting to strike so will have to read up on it, but it must be safer if they don't work very long shifts and get enough sleep.
Westi
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Oh Robo what you say is so true & the NHS is making us prepared! I've got to go to terrorism training soon - it's mainly identification & aftermath but feels kind of weird & out of synch with resuscitation, moving & handling & infection control but for the younger ones working up the ranks will become the norm for them I suspect.

Dan Numbers - yep the current consultants remember too well the hardships & hours of graft they had to put in to get to their current positions, but in some instances it was only luck or a good mentor that stopped that turning into a sleep deprived horror story or no career at all. I still work in the NHS but not in my previous positions of a ward sister & site manager & very happy to be out of that in the current climate of paperwork to prove you provided real care! Patient satisfaction is not measured in paperwork.

Like I said I am undecided about it all, but think it will happen. We've got it covered, I'm confident & I think most patients will not even notice & the front door & ITU/CCU are totally covered. Catherine - don't start me on GP's & getting appointments - had to go down & use so much medical talk to get my hubby's follow up appointment following a quadruple bypass - to a ruddy receptionist!

Westi
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Catherine
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Sorry Westi I hope you manage to get it sorted.
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I would certainly prefer to be seen by a doctor who has not been working for the previous 14/16 hours.

Regarding GPs. We are very lucky to still have one who works in the old way, just go to the surgery (any time from 9am to 6pm except lunch time 1pm to 3pm...during lunch he does his house calls) and wait your turn. He is a one man band, doesn't have a receptionist, nurse or computer, just a battery of filing cabinets.

Before retirement my wife was a nurse in a big GP practice in Cheshire. Our GP here diagnosed her cancer and refered her very quickly and it saved her life.

Afterwards her old boss, in Cheshire, said that in the UK the terms of reference wouldn't have allowed such a quick referal.
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