LOOK AT HIM. HE’S TAKING A BREATHER BUT STILL WORKING. WHAT’S WRONG WITH THAT?
Interactive version of the MMC Master Plan
Yes, get rid of the scary Yellow Box and the two threatening Pale Blue Boxes too!
They need to be buried for good.
And stop meddling with little fistfuls of feeble competencies.
Many competencies are essential in the development of an Independent Medical Practitioner. But so are attributes.
Collecting a smattering of competences is just a smoke screen that will allow Great Uncle MMC to pretend “Yellow Box Doctors” are “Independent Medical Practitioners.”
Just a smoke screen.
Just a way of fooling everyone that the NHS is not crumbling.
WHAT IS THE ANSWER?
The answer is a single spine training structure with the yellow and pale blue boxes removed and dumped. Permanently. Instead there needs to be, at certain stages, many “taking a breathing space” places for those that need it, when they need it.
Think about it. With a 70% female workforce many Breathing Spaces will be needed. It is better they are planned than happen by default. A significant number of male doctors may choose to get their breath back too.
There are many reasons for occupying a Breathing Space. Pregnancy, children, elderly relatives, physical and mental illness, quality of life issues, quality study time, research, or just a welcome break from the bureaucracy that is the NHS today.
But taking a breather does not mean taking a break. It does not mean not working. It is not a holiday, nor leave of absence. It does not mean leaving and feeling threatened that there is no way back into the system. It does not mean being a second class doctor. It does mean, for some, a slower rate of progression. And a few may, for their own reasons, take a permanent breather, and may never reach their original goal. The choice of the doctor, not the establishment. There is no leaving so there is no problem returning. The door is always open because it was never closed.
This is possible, but as well as altruism and vision, it will need meticulous attention to detail. It is a complex system. It requires many more training posts, many of them moving in and out of part-time hours in time with the Breathing Spaces of any individual. It will need to be personalised and will take a lot of planning locally. However, it is possible and indeed necessary.
And it must be piloted.
Nevertheless, Breathing Spaces are the only way to ensure that the potential of a 70% female workforce will be realised. It is the only way that will give the necessary flexibility dictated by a 70% female workforce.
And a common training spine is the only route that all junior doctors should take to become Independent Medical Practitioners. Any other route has the potential of compromising patient safety.
