Fascinating stuff about the courses Rowley. Makes you wonder, doesn't it,
where it will all end. But there is a point to all this. Course money is all
Deanery money, so it is indeed public funds. You have to be very careful
what you do with it.
As far as my evening/weekend phone calls are concerned, I take personnel
management very "personally", shall we say. I wouldn't trust one of my
managers to be able to "negotiate" shift swaps etc with one of my juniors. I
firmly believe consultants should manage such issues. You could say I'm a
control freak, but my managers have entrusted me with a huge medical
staffing budget, and I've managed to shave nearly half a million of it in
the past year by attention to detail more than anything else. They're not
worried about the occasional stamp I use...for the moment. But managers have
short memories, don't they?
But returning to the calls, I could go through the operator but it's too
time consuming. Again, my fondness for mobile telephony wins over.
AF
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rowley Cottingham" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, October 04, 2006 8:45 PM
Subject: Re: grasping the nettle!medicolegal work in Emergency medicine
Why are you doing any of these? Ringing an SHO or a locum agency suggests
you need cover in the department - that's a managerial issue not a doctor
issue. Ringing a colleague in the evening is either for a beer (fairy nuff)
or work - again, a Trust issue. If you need to make a call that is Trust
business and you need a line or number ask the operator for it. If you use
your mobile bill the Trust. Equally, value your own time carefully. Our
Trust said they would only pay the public transport travel rate between
sites. Some colleagues got very hot under the collar about it. I calculated
it cost me £7 a month, and estimated that was about 10 minutes of my time.
It isn't worth it for the aggro.
It is very important to play by the rules, and be scrupulous about what is
and is not your responsibility and the Trust's. I do no medicolegal work on
site and use no Trust resources, as this is completely transparent and suits
me. However, if I am kept late on Trust business and need to ring home to
say I am delayed, in my view that is fair Trust expenditure.
The latest thing Trusts are starting to get upset about is the use of money
paid for courses. One Trust discovered that people who were not faculty were
going out to dinner and this was being paid for by course fees (public
money, you know). The Course Director retorted that these were partners, and
this was a way for thanking them for losing faculty members preparing
material in evenings and losing them at weekends, and so far the Trust
involved has backed off. But?
Best wishes
Rowley.
-----Original Message-----
From: Accident and Emergency Academic List
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Adrian Fogarty
Sent: 04 October 2006 19:50
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: grasping the nettle!medicolegal work in Emergency medicine
Oh, and I almost forgot our Trust's draconian "call barring" policy that
has recently been tightened up. Means I can't dial an outside line evenings
or weekends. So, if I need to contact an SHO, one of my colleagues or a
locum agency, yours truly ends up calling on my mobile!
So, you think I'm going to lie awake at night worrying about abusing my
Trust's office space and postage?
AF
|