At 16:52 18/04/2005, you wrote:
>if we got a pandemic of it, could i legitimately refuse to go to work? my
>reading of the antiflu stuff the gov is stocking is that their effect is
>quite modest. i'm buggered if i'm going to put myself at serious risk of
>getting a 70% fatal illness.
The underlying principles were in a debate about GMC guidelines a while back.
Most "First Aid" guidelines are 100% clear - protect yourself first. From
a public health point of view this is also sensible. Sick doctors can help
no-one, and can spread diseases to the most vulnerable parts of society.
The GMC doesn't write things this way. I believe the origin of their
thinking was the potential refusal of some surgeons to treat HIV infected
patients. The GMC in my view is wrong about this, and if they tried to
enforce it I would hope someone would take the matter to higher authority -
if any authority existed in such a scenario.
Bear in mind however that in the real doomsday scenario (not a small
localized outbreak) anyone who knew you were a doctor and were refusing to
try and help might not bother complaining about it. They too have a 70%
chance of dying and if they take you and your family with them some might
not care.
If the dice roll that unkindly you might prefer to take your chances and be
gracious about it.
Julian
|