Three examples of benefit to general practitioners
1. Negotiating an exemption for private practices for the need to be
annually inspected by the Care Standards commission if invasive surgery
is not practised. Current fee saving £1300 per year. Same exemption as
given to dental surgeries and GPs.
2. Protecting Malpractice insurance in a hostile insurance climate. Some
users such as physios and midwives had cover withdrawn completely by
their previous insurers.
3. Negotiating with govt depts for Agenda for Change, prescription
medicines, supplementary and independent prescribing.
4. Providing some free and some cheap CPD
etc
Kind Regards
Ralph Graham
Consultant Podiatrist
Witham, Essex, U.K.
-----Original Message-----
From: A group for the academic discussion of current issues in podiatry
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Mark Russell
Sent: 05 June 2004 19:13
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Professional Representation; Podiatric Surgery et al.
Ralph
How nice. But my delight is tempered by the realisation that those
hallucinations have returned again. I should have guessed that my
version of events was a mere illusion. It must be the mushrooms. Only
last week I was certain I’d seen a herd of pink cows in a field near
Garstang. They say the effects last for years. Flashbacks too. I must be
more careful what I pick in future.
I’m not sure what you disagree with though. The example you give is one
tiny little observation. Can I also suggest that you include the words
“in my opinion” after (Wrongly)? If you wish to argue the influencing
factors that govern Society policy that’s all well and fine, but I
suspect we may find that employment bias is but one driving force of
several. The profession, never mind the Society, has been pushed along
by three or four ‘factions’. ‘Managers’ and ‘Surgeons’ are but two. You
may disagree but I only relate the comments of some council members –
both past and present. Maybe they pick the wrong mushrooms too?
I am glad that you say that general practice is the bedrock of the
profession. But has it been well served by the political hegemony in
British podiatry? Can you give me three examples where the Society can
claim to have benefited the working environment, in any meaningful
sense, for general practitioners over the last twenty years? Would you
care to argue against the suggestion that, if anything, the professional
platform that was State Registered Chiropody has slipped badly over the
same period and that the future is extremely uncertain and unattractive?
Would you disagree that the overwhelming majority of people in this
profession are disillusioned and apathetic towards the prevailing
professional direction and that perhaps the seven and a half thousand
members who didn’t vote at the last election were registering a vote of
dissent? If the Society didn’t exist what would really change?
I realise that these are emotive issues Ralph, but you fail to address
any of the main points that I was making. You ignored the fact that I
was citing examples from the Borthwick-Dowd paper; my point of the last
post was this. Where does podiatric surgery leave the profession at the
present time? It’s obvious the Royal Colleges will block any ascendancy
hopes of parity between orthopaedic and podiatric practice. There is
certainly active conflict between both parties. The authors ask – where
do you go from here? I would add – without further endangering the rest
of the profession. I realise you see things differently Ralph, but you
must accept that many in the profession are deeply unhappy at the way
podiatric surgery was established for precisely the reasons I outlined
last week. You may disagree of course, but I think you may find that my
hallucinations are not unique. I wonder how much easier it would have
been all these years ago if we had approached our colleagues in
orthopaedics and suggested greater integration between the professions.
If we had applied ourselves to working alongside the orthopods –
contributing our knowledge of gait and biomechanics to augment their
surgical practice – instead of engaging in a damaging period of conflict
on territorial encroachment that is breathtakingly duplicitous to say
the least. I think it was Bob Fleck who asked the question earlier this
year - If you wanted to be surgeons, why didn’t you go back to med
school just like the oral surgeons do? Why not indeed? The Royal
Colleges will most certainly get their way – maybe the ‘achievement’
with RCS (Edin) was nothing else but a canny move by these fly Scots to
nip this podiatric surgery business in the bud? Not my suggestion – but
that of the authors again. If the conflict continues where does that
leave the rest of the profession? Just a thought – if the rest of the
profession decide that podiatric surgery training and practice should be
the responsibility of the Royal Colleges – where does that leave you
then? Do you think that the fallout between the Society and the BOA has
damaged the establishment of the profession elsewhere? The medical
profession has many friends in high places Ralph. If they saw us as an
ally rather than a problem, would they not be more minded to assist us
in any way they can? Medicine and dentistry operate reasonable well
together. Why aren’t we on the same platform.
I just think you’ve got to start asking yourselves why things aren’t
improving. There a lot of areas you could address. Communication has to
be the starting point though and on that basis I’m delighted to see you
sharing your thoughts once again. Even though your analysis is poor and
your assumptions are wrong; in my opinion, of course!
Back to the mushrooms ;-)
Kindest
Mark Russell
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