<<Declan,
I am proud to publicly identify with Tim Paine, ( a doctor I have long
admired). I have enjoyed a very satisfying and creative career that I have
no
regrets entering.>>
Mike, you are hardly a typical GP! Look at your achievements and then
look at what sort of environment you are fortunate enough to
inhabit---which must have been quite a flexible one to allow you do all the
non-coalface stuff you have done.
FWIW you might recall a letter I wrote about your stance on health
promotion checks----hero worship would have described how I felt, coupled
with shame that for what seemed perfectly good reasons at the time (but
weren't of course) I had not taken the same course. I stil hold you in
very high regard.
<<
Nevertheless old romantic optimists like me are upset that so many of our
younger colleagues, nurses, PAMs and managers seem so disillusioned and
unhappy today. >>
The only thing which comes to mind is a GP I know very well. He whinges
incessantly over conditions, changes, pay, review body etc etc etc. He
blames all on the "useless idiots" (his words, not mine) who represent us
on LMC and GPC and BMA. He would never dream of going on a committee or
helping out any of our reps or even attending a meeting on local services
etc. During all the years I spent doing ferocious on-call (esp in
hospital jobs) one of the things I resented most was the attitude of my
elders and their failure to do anything about it. I suppose eventually my
generation decided to do the job for itself, hence OOH co-ops.
Why are we seeing an exodus of staff from the NHS? This would be a
fruitful thread to explore and I shall kick off with two very simple ones;
first the nursing shortage in London, secondly ditto for ward clerks and
such. Both have one rather obvious answer---the massive discrepancy
between London cost of living and salary. I don't see any way to solve
that one other than to pay a wage sufficient to allow people have a roof
over their heads.
Anyone else want to join in?
Declan
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