At 15:27 09/02/2008, you wrote:
>Alun Price wrote:
> >
> > Its FUBAR
> >
> >
> >
>SNAFU surely?
>
>But we agree FU.
If there is NO response we are prepared to make (and there may not
be) then why wouldn't the government remove 135 QoF points (or make
them unattainable) next year?
If there is NO response we are prepared to make (and there may not
be) why wouldn't the government privatize if it thought that a better
way to deliver its agenda?
If there is NO response we are prepared to make (and there may not
be) why would the government bother to listen to us about pensions,
the confidentiality of medical records, or the desirability of GPs
being seen as government funded personal doctors rather than (as both
parties now suggest) ***highly paid public servants***?
This is not the first assault on general practice and it most surely
won't be the last.
The issue is not the possible desirability of some extended
availability of surgery hours, but the trustworthiness of the
government when it struck a deal with a largely reluctant profession
over the new contract, the bully boy tactics it's used, and the
distortion of priorities away from the truly sick in favour of the
economically active worried well.
A vote for A will divide the profession further, should cause the
negotiators to resign (because their original position just doesn't
make sense if they were going to recommend we accept A), and will
signal the death knell of the BMA and possibly GPC as a
representative organization as, aside from any impact on our own
faith in it, the government will no longer respect it.
The reasons for the suggested vote for A are suicidal. Equally the
GPC was in an unenviable position and it is now down to us.
A vote for option B after the advice of the negotiators will make
them appear moderate and enhance their negotiating power, will
undermine the government's claim that the negotiators were
unrepresentative extremists, and will give the profession the best
chance of having at least some sense and self respect for the other
battles ahead.
Julian
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