> In article <005201c1f432$5aafb010$0100a8c0@DADS>, Ray McGlone
> <[log in to unmask]> writes
> > The new GP Contract (on the BMA Web Site
> > http://www.bma.org.uk/ap.nsf/Content/__Home_Public) appears to
> > take responsibility away from the GPs to provide any service
> > outside the weekday hours 0800 to 6-30 pm.
>
Responsibility remains with 'Primary Care Organisiations'- probably PCTs,
although the individual GPs won't have the responsibility any more. May well
involve a certain amount of work being done by nurses.
Of course what is worrying is that a PCT could pocket the cash, provide a
skeleton service (possibly nurse led, largely triaging patients) and say 'if
it's not an emergency, it can wait until the next surgery; if it is an
emergency it should be seen in the emergency department'. If all the
patients who currently call their GPs out of hours were redirected to NHS
direct, we'd see a big increase in workload.
> The rumour mill has it that the consultant contract negotiations are
> discussing built-in 14-hour resident shifts for hospital consultants.
I thought the rumour that the 14 hours was to be a day shift- 3 NHDs a day,
each NHD 4 hours (the contract is likely to move from 3 1/2 hour NHDs to 4
hour NHDs), allow for working a couple of hours past the end of the shift.
14 hour shifts are not possible within the Working Time Directive in any
case.
I'd note that some people already work 3 NHD days (8 to 6:30)
Matt Dunn
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