Posted by: Witch Doctor | February 6, 2008

The Wheelie-Bin Doctors

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DOING A DENTIST

You know, My Black Cat, The Witch Doctor remembers well the time most dentists came out of the NHS. It was a scenario carefully orchestrated by the government, and The Witch Doctor is of the opinion that it all went according to “The Big Government Plan” at the time.

Toothache, so what!

(Have you ever had toothache?)

Fillings, so what!

Orthodontics, so what!

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DOING A DENTIST

“Doing a Dentist” would not lead to increased patient mortality.

Would it?

Or if it did, it would not be easily apparent to the punters (patients and clients) that the lack of dental facilities was to blame.

Now we see huge queues when a new dentist, who is prepared to do NHS work, opens.

And dentists are flown in from Poland on occasion to “fill the gap.”

Mark you, some say the dentists did OK out of it, because the marketplace dictated a demand for dentists.

Beautiful teeth are a cosmetic blessing.

(And toothache is a terrible thing).

Greedy dentists!

Anyway, that’s all in the past, the medical establishment didn’t take too much interest then. Doctors were different. Patients die without doctors. This could never happen to GP’s.

Really?

Another huge tidal wave of “The Big Government Plan” is about to engulf the GPs.

More difficult for the government this time, though. This is not about toothache, fillings, and orthodontics. Without doctors, patients will die and this will be apparent to all. Big court cases. So there has to be a fallback position.

The fallback position is an excellent one.

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THE FALL-BACK POSITION

It will boost the economy – our economy, and the US economy.

So that makes it altruistic.

The punters’ (patients and clients) taxes will be diverted into multi-national companies who will provide health care.

Free health care – now, but not always.

The multi-national healthcare companies will want a ROTUND clientele but a LEAN workforce.

That’s why we’re all hearing about Toyota-style LEAN-NESS.

Better health care.

Better health care – because the patients will be seen in interior designed surroundings with fresh flowers, well nourished pot plants, and music in the toilets. Local artists will be encouraged to display their original paintings on the walls. No tacky prints here!

Staff will all have excellent communication skills. They will smile a stage smile and will never forget to remind you to “have a nice day” – or the up-market London equivalent, or the up-market Yorkshire equivalent, or the up-market Liverpool equivalent. Staff will not chew gum. This is because they are following the “smile” and the “nice day” protocol. This protocol does not allow chewing gum. They hold certificates for these protocols. The certificates will be proudly and elegantly framed and hung on the wall. These “Competent Clinical Decision Makers”*** who are not doctors will have many certificates displayed on the wall of their rooms: for they will have sat lots of little tests for lots of little skills. And passed them all. The degree in handwashing. The certificate of “niceness.” The “empathy” diploma. The punters (patients and clients) will be impressed.

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BETTER, LOVING, HEALTH CARE

The more gregarious doctors might have one or two certificates on the walls. The little unimpressive one that says “MB ChB” will go un-noticed by the punters (patients and clients). The more reticent doctors will keep their unimpressive certificates somewhere in a suitcase in the attic. This is just as well, because soon there will be no wall available for doctors’ certificates because there will be no doctor’s rooms. Doctors will become the “Wheelie-Bins” of the new NHS. Wheeled into the elegant rooms of “The Competent Clinical Decision Makers” when the diagnosis and treatment is forming the shape of a pear. The doctors will do salaried part time work on a sessional basis. There will be many young women doctors working two, three or four sessions per week. With some exceptions, these women doctors will be more malleable than the full-time men. They will be wheeled about from branch to branch of the big multi-nationals to cover sick leave and maternity leave. These “Wheelie-Bin Doctors” will not know their patients from Adam. But the “punters” (clients) won’t care. Some other “punters” (patients) will.

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A GP’S OFFICE IN THE NEW GLOBAL NHS

That’s the way it will be.

Won’t it, My Black Cat?

“The Competent Clinical Decision Maker” is coming of age.

***N.B. The term “The Competent Clinical Decision Maker” was first noticed by The Witch Doctor in October 2007.

You think it was a term introduced by the government?

Wrong!

By the National Practitioners?

Wrong!

By the nurses?

Wrong!

By the pharmacists?

Wrong!

By Skills for Health”

Wrong!

It was introduced by The Royal College of Physicians in London in October 2007.

“ACUTE MEDICAL CARE – THE RIGHT PERSON, IN THE RIGHT SETTING – FIRST TIME”
Report of the Acute Medicine Task Force
October 2007

Yes, the term “Competent Clinical Decision Maker” was introduced by doctors – senior doctors, although the term seems to originate from Iran.

Introduced by senior physicians working under the aegis of The Royal College of Physicians in London, at a time the country was on the brink of massive unemployment of junior doctors.

Now there’s a thing to chew over.

Eh, My Black Cat?

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Responses

  1. This is crazy! Why? It can’t only be about money?! Those nurses earn the same if not more than the juniors! Even at more senior levels. To the outsider, this seems like a personal vandetta of some sort against doctors.

    Witch doc, could it be that one ex person wanted to be a doc but didn’t make it, like someone I know? 🙂 After all, medicine is a calling! I really believe this, Could this also be the reason ‘they’ answered ‘another’ call in a different but similar in purpose ‘vocation?’

    Is there a psychiatrist in the house? mais non!

    ps, I don’t know if you know this but, medical graduates in Egypt are allowed to set up their own private family practice. They can then take ‘some’ training to qualify as family doctors with interest in a specialty, much like what is happening now in Britain! Of course, the majority of those do work in poor areas. Do you think this may happen here too? Private GPs with a special interest practicing in poor areas for a set fee, either paid directly to the doctor or through a multi-national with special interest in money making? If true, this will be worse than what happens in third world countries! Because, at least, the family doctors there still have compassion and on many occasions provide their services for free if the patient can’t afford to pay.

    Is compassion a thing of the past?

  2. Hi Sam, its good to see you back. I notice you have an accountancy background and this has been put to good use in your recent number-crunching post. These kind of figures are very interesting. I’m not getting much time just now and haven’t been able to look at that part of the select committee yet.

    The government’s long-term plan might to try to separate the patients from the clients and increasing the “client” base which will eventually boost the economy by becoming the private sector, while keeping the NHS for patients. So it may become an ill/well divide which is rather better than a rich/poor divide. Nevertheless it will be difficult to separate the two.

    Healthy people seem to need to be visiting doctors’ surgeries all the time. Why, is beyond me. I have a notion this is being cultivated, as a client base for the future, hence the need for evening and weekend surgeries.

    The government can’t say they are doing this, of course, because it would lose votes and it amounts to rationing. The “R” word is still forbidden.

    Time will tell.

  3. Hi Witch doc,

    I too though you maybe busy too 🙂

    “The government’s long-term plan might to try to separate the patients from the clients and increasing the “client” base which will eventually boost the economy by becoming the private sector, while keeping the NHS for patients. ”

    That can’t be a bad thing IMO? Seperate the “real” from the “ficticious.” It’s the privatisation bit that is worrying because from past experience, one privatisation starts rolling, nothing will be able to stop it. One would have hoped that the government would find ways of charging the worried well somehow, rather than privatise a national institution of this calibre.

    And … about the numbers, did you read this … 🙂

    http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article3321919.ece

    At long last! Protection for British graduates.

    but that is starting 2009 so the 2008 problem still stands. But, if Alan Johnson wins his appeal at the lords, it means that my ‘model’ has collapsed, at least the first part because the constant ‘bulge’ would have been eliminated and the training numbers will roughly match our graduates numbers in 2009.. Not for the second part when the Brits displace other Brits, starting from 2010 though! .. 🙂 ‘If’ training numbers remain ‘constant’ ….

    … At least ‘one’ year has been saved ….. 2009

    I wonder what will happen next? 😉

  4. Rather ‘extensive’ use of emoticons … how do you make a shy face ….

  5. Hi Sam,

    Yes, it does look as if there will be some easing of the application system following this news.

    The numbers game still confuses me a bit though. Was the government’s intention to saturate the market for political reasons? Were they arrogant enough to act in a way that they pre-empted a court decision regarding immigrant doctors? Or both? I’m remembering Alan Templeton’s comments to Carol Black at the peak of the MTAS problems.

    “Also they fail to identify UK graduates, which we all thought was the major purpose of MMC.”

    Saturating the market, pre-empting the legal system, hidden agendas with MMC – whatever was going on last year is not reflection of a transparent government. But then transparent things don’t reflect, I suppose.

    Glad to see you’re back blogging again. It’s difficult to stop when there is so much going on.

    I think, I’m going to take a short break from blogging soon to find time to read the transcripts of all the MMC select committees.

  6. “Was the government’s intention to saturate the market for political reasons?”

    HSC panel members ‘suggested’ same at meeting 5, second part .. as ‘means to drive down wages!’

    “Were they arrogant enough to act in a way that they pre-empted a court decision regarding immigrant doctors? ”

    Possibly, for I can’t understand why would one court rules for the government and another rules against so fast!

    ““Also they fail to identify UK graduates, which we all thought was the major purpose of MMC.”

    A baffling bit to say the least because, if this was the intention, why didn’t the MTAS application ask for ‘nationality’ and which medical school an applicant graduated from?! Seems logic if you are after a certain group to include question to identify same ..

    “I think, I’m going to take a short break from blogging soon to find time to read the transcripts of all the MMC select committees.”

    😦 I am sure you brilliant ‘witches’ have ways to ‘multi-task’ that we poor mortals don’t have!

    Although I can understand the need for a ‘little’ break from all this flying you and black cat do … just a little … ‘very’ little, let us know though.

    And thanks, I will keep blogging till I run out of things to say .. given that I am very limited to start with.

    🙂

  7. “why didn’t the MTAS application ask for ‘nationality’ and which medical school an applicant graduated from?”

    Odd. Appears not to make sense. It avoided nationality and medical school yet asked for religion and sexuality. Bizarre. It makes me wonder…..

    And no Sam, you are not in any way limited!

  8. me too, I wonder …

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  18. […] It is a system that puts obstacles between patient and doctor. […]


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