Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Darzi's poisoned dart


" Th'adorning thee with so much art
Is but a barb'rous skill;
'Tis like the poisoning of a dart,
Too apt before to kill"



This is what he actually said.


"Most patients love their GP but I hink we need to seperate that fantastic relationship between a patient and a doctor from where most practices now are on average four five six GPs working together under a single roof"


And replace it with what?

His comments are interesting and reflect his lack of qualifications for meddling in primary care.

The personal relationship between a patient and 'their' doctor is the cornerstone of Primary Care.

It cannot be replaced by the conveyor belt style of medicine favoured by superspecialised surgeons in centres of excellence.
If Darzi had any credibility before then he has none now.

But why did the BBC alter his quote?

It was clear as day on the video feed.

The BBC initially altered the quote to

"We need to support that fantastic relationship between a patient and a doctor"

and then changed the inaccurate quote to a paraphrasing, followed by complete removal.

C'mon BBC

Impartial

or

NuLabour mouthpiece.






When is a vote not a vote?

The answer is simple, when it is organised by the BMA.

GP's have been balloted on Gordon Brown's bullying Government's offer on changes to the new GP contract.

This offer (known as option A) has been followed by a threat (option B) if A is not accepted.

A and B are both pay cuts and it is glaringly obvious that B is worse than A.

A is not acceptable as it provides no new resources for opening longer hours, is the antithesis of family friendly working and specifically does not allow for adjustment of workload to protect patients against overworked and overtired doctors.

B could easily destabilise Genral Practice, leading to dentistry style queues for treatment. It would save the Government huge amounts of cash which could be invested in private companies and their shareholders, or to prop up an ailing mismanaged bank.

GP's have been asked to vote on whether they accept the 'offer' or the 'imposition'.

How can one vote for an imposition.

I wish for neither. I would prefer another choice.

I am opposed to both options but wish the GPC to seek all recourse to Law and ballot for possible industrial action if the Government imposes Option B.

The GPC actings on behalf of my union has had the following explanation:

'You are SELECTING one out of two lousy options. THAT is NOT ACCEPTANCE OF ANYTHING'


So I do not have a vote, a simple yes or no to option A would suffice.

The GPC are insisting that I am given a selection choice.
The explanation is that whatever I SELECT the government cannot then try and spin my choice.

They do not seem to realise that, as with al other recent proclamations on GP contracts, it will be spun and spun by Brown, Johnson, Bradshaw, and their puppets at the BBC.

The only ones who will think GP's are getting a vote will be the media, the public and the government.

Thank you GPC.

Remind yourself why I pay my subscription.

Because it won't be for long.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

For Sale : One NHS, free with every Bank

So its official. A two horse race to own Northern Rock.

Who will be the chosen one.

Virgin (Money)

or

The Bankers who got us into this fine mess in the first place.


We are all reportedly subsidising Northern Rock to the tune of £2K per taxpayer. A total of £50 (fifty) billion. This makes the £40million they wouldn't pay to honour the police payrise seem like pocket money.

The winner will have to pay back £Billions in the first 3 years.

Who to trust. Well it is a no brainer to suggest 'The Management' take over. They are to blame in the first place. But what about Virgin.

They will be saddled with a debt (to us the taxpayer) of 100 Manchester Uniteds, or 3 GP salaries (If we are to believe papers like the Daily Wail).

With a track record on the railways of not delivering surpluses to the taxpayer and needing a £450million bale out last year, things do look good. But they are going to be ethical surely.

I wouldn't like to cast a shadow on the dealings of Virgin companies. They wouldn't get involved in any shady practices like price fixing or cartels. Not like British Airways did with that other airline, you know, the one that grassed them up.
What were they called??? Something Atlantic I think.

Now Virgin wants to get into Health as well.

New Virgin Healthcentres to open up all over the country. There are many such private providers circling the NHS like vultures

Will they look after you if you are 'expensive to run', or a 'frequent patient'.

You might get a Season ticket and be offered a credit card with each consultation.

You might get to see a Doctor (after the Noctor). But will it be your Doctor?

It might be your Lekarz. Better brush up on your Polish.