I've posted about this in the general chinwag but do not want it to get lost in there especially if some do not pop in and read it.
If you work in healthcare you will know about the issues Doctors and being faced with at the moment. If you don't, you still may have heard about Jeremy Hunt wanting Doctors to work 24/7.
Now, as you know, I work in healthcare, our Docs work 24/7. Our consultants may only be in the building physically 5 days a week, but the other two they are on call, so if they are needed for anything they have to attend, or be ready at the end of the phone to advise. This means they cannot go off somewhere and 'have fun', just in case they get that call that they are needed in the hospital ASAP for an emergency. I've had a doc attend the unit from home at 4am in the morning as no other doc was available to do what needed doing. I've also known one of our docs stay on and do a 24 hour shift because there was nobody around to cover a night shift
Is Jeremy blind to all of this? You may have seen doctors posting pics of themselves on the book face with them being at work at stupid o clock, just to prove they are already there 24/7.
What are your thoughts on this?
So all I am asking is, please please please sign the link on my wall. I know how hard these docs work, ALL the time!
Thank you.
Our wedding day - 6 October 2012
CommentAuthorSarah D
Done xx
Became Mrs Duthie 7th October 2016
CommentAuthorGlitterfairy
Thanks Sarah, if it gets 100,000 votes it has to be dealt with in Parliment. It's reaching that point.
Our wedding day - 6 October 2012
CommentAuthorEmily17
have done GF x
Met in 2009
He proposed Jan 2014
Will become Mrs P 7th October 2017
I've only been in hospital once, for almost a week, and I know when the night nurse woke me about 11pm to change my IV I saw the doctor who'd had to stick a syringe down my throat about 10am that morning still on shift - and he'd told me while he was doing it that he wasn't expecting to be "off-off" for a couple of days at least!
CommentAuthorGlitterfairy
Thank you, getting there with the votes and getting so close yo the 100,000 mark. I'm sure it will rise above that rapidly.
Our wedding day - 6 October 2012
CommentAuthorJordanG99
I have signed also. Hunt makes my blood boil. Just the mention of his name makes me mad x
CommentAuthorGlitterfairy
Brilliant thank you. Over the 100,000 mark already and it keeps rising
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Our wedding day - 6 October 2012
CommentAuthorMrs D2B
Done it. I swear 9 times out of 10 politicians don't think before they open their mouths!!
31/12/2017 A New Year, A New Life, A New Husband and Wife
CommentAuthorGlitterfairy
No they don't do they, bet they'd love working 7 days a week, getting paid a lot less than what they do now, and having people's lives in their hands.
Now over 140,000, and I imagine it will go further than that.
Our wedding day - 6 October 2012
CommentAuthorGlitterfairy
The government has responded to this......
The Government has responded to the petition you signed – “To debate a vote of no confidence in Health Secretary the Right Hon Jeremy Hunt”.
Government responded:
The Government is committed to delivering seven day services to make sure that patients get the same high quality, safe care on a Saturday and Sunday as they do on a week day.
Many people do not realise that if you are admitted to hospital on a weekend, you have a 16% greater chance of dying. The Government wants to change this so that everyone can be confident that they will receive the same level of care whatever day of the week they are admitted to an NHS hospital.
NHS consultants already provide an outstanding service and show great dedication to ensuring patients get the best outcomes. But the Government has a duty to make sure the system is set up in a way which makes it as easy as possible for hospitals to organise their resources to maximise patient safety across every day of the week.
To understand more about the possible issues for staff contracts, last year the government asked the independent pay review bodies for NHS staff - The Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB) and the NHS Pay Review Body (NHSPRB) for their observations and recommendations about how the reform of employment contracts could help support the delivery of seven day services in England.
The reports were published this month. They identified that a major barrier to seven day services is a decade old contractual right in the consultants’ contract negotiated by their union representatives in 2003 that allows senior doctors to refuse to work non-emergency work in the evenings, at nights and at weekends. No junior doctor, nurse or other clinical group has any such right. Other senior public sector professionals who work in services required to keep the public safe, such as police officers, firemen and prison governors, do not have this opt out either.
Whilst the vast majority of consultants work tirelessly for their patients, the opt out allows individuals to charge employers hugely expensive payments which are much higher than national contract rates (up to £200 an hour). The average earnings for a hospital consultant are already in the top 2% in the country at £118,000, and these inflated payments can make it difficult for hospitals to provide the weekend cover they know patients need.
The report endorsed the removal of the opt out, as well as broadly supporting other changes to the consultant contract that would ensure the right level of cover is available every day of the week; not just Monday to Friday.
Under the new plans, doctors will still continue to receive a significantly higher rate for working unsocial hours and there will be a contractual limit (not an expectation) of working a maximum of 13 weekends a year.
By the end of the Parliament, the Government hopes that the majority of consultants, in line with existing practice for nurses, midwives and junior doctors, will be on reformed contracts, working across seven days, to deliver a better service to patients. Hospitals like Salford Royal and Northumbria that have instituted seven day services have already seen improvements in patient care and staff morale.
These new plans will mean that doctors working in some of the toughest areas in the NHS, such as A&E and obstetrics, will at last be properly rewarded and there will be faster pay progression for all consultants early on in their career. Under the new proposals, the highest performing consultants could be able to receive up to £30,000 a year in bonus payments, on top of their base salary.
Of course, improving weekend care requires more than just ensuring greater consultant presence. That's why the government is also addressing issues such as access to weekend diagnostic services, provision of out of hospital care to facilitate weekend discharges, and adequate staffing cover amongst other clinical groups,. But NHS leaders and the independent pay review bodies are clear that increasing the presence of senior clinical decision makers at weekends is vital, and that the consultant opt out remains a barrier to organising broader support services and staff rotas.
The Government feels it is under an obligation to the public to do all it can to make NHS care at the weekend as safe as during the week through the delivery of seven day services this Parliament and that is what it will continue to do.
Our wedding day - 6 October 2012
CommentAuthorEmmilou82
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All done
Marrying 'The One' on 30th July 2016
I am now Mrs Emma Stokoe xx
CommentAuthorGlitterfairy
Nice one Emm
Our wedding day - 6 October 2012
CommentAuthorTheNewMrsBarrett
Done (finally!)
CommentAuthorGlitterfairy
Excellent
Our wedding day - 6 October 2012
CommentAuthorMrsThomson2B
I think medical staff in hospitals do a great job, its GP surgeries that annoy me...you can't be sick on a weekend or bank holiday or after 5pm and when you can't get an appt for weeks at a time what are you supposed to do? I think hospital staff deserve huge rewards for the job they do. I used to work on hospital wards as a nursing auxillary and the pressure on you can be horrendous x