Dr. Paul Steventon wrote:
> Agreed.
>
> GPs in the UK talk a great moral and ethical fight but I am sure we
> are all aware of how few of us are prepared to disturb our lives or
> make sacrifices to ensure we represent our principles forcefully
> enough to make a difference.
>
> We don't get involved any more, apparently neither does the BMA, and
> as a result the politicians are rewriting the book of ethics for us.
>
> Just like Hitler and Stalin did for their doctors for their
> particular reasons..
>
> Past generations of UK doctors have stood up to government diktat.
>
> But not us.
>
> Current plans see us typing patients (potential) secrets direct into
> central government computers which are beyond our control. It is
> widely expected that the data we provide will be used for many
> purposes not all of which we or the patient will necessarily be
> informed about - NHS Fraud investigation is an obvious one but there
> will certainly be others...
>
> The excellent suggestion from Paul Cundy that we should be able to
> continue to record sensitive data locally as we see fit is currently
> not catered for in the long-term, although until our current (GP
> designed) IT systems are removed from us, we will (hopefully) be able
> to do this.
>
> If GPs could get an ethical grip on this monster, one might go
> forward into the 'Brave New World' with a bit of optimism...
>
> We all need to get noisily engaged with this and the other related
> ethical problems whether 'they' want us to or not!
>
> We mustn't act as if 'nanny knows best' when she patently doesn't.
>
> Demanding leadership from then BMA is all very well but the leaders
> are unlikely to shout 'charge' if they turn round and there's nobody
> following them...
>
> Come on, UK GPs.
>
> Get involved.
>
> Prove them (and me) wrong....
>
> Please.
>
> Paul Steventon
>
>

How many people does it take to get an emergency motion debated at the
LMC conference?

Trefor