The BritMeds 2007 (12)

Does the Prime Minister have a sense of humour? Maybe. Does he demean his office by doing things like this? Dr Crippen did not know whether to laugh or cringe.

When you have done whatever you have to do watching something like that, you can relax with Dr Rant, who is on sterling form:

Thanks for our 'best ever year'. Here's your P45, now fuck off.

For the rest of the MTAS week, and more of Dr Rant, see the bottom of the column. In the mean time, with apologies to Joni Mitchell, listen to this.

"Take your P45, get a job on a parking lot."***

A commentator spots a letter in the Daily Telegraph from Patricia Hewitt:

"Ten years ago, the NHS was on its knees, with staff shortages, recruitment difficulties, and widespread vacancies. We've eliminated recruitment difficulties and rewarded hard-working professionals.

Staff now get paid more for doing more. The NHS now has 300,000 more staff, with vacancy rates at an all-time low, and we've trained more than ever, so that the need for staff is matched by the numbers of high-quality applicants.

Any redundancy is regrettable, but there were only 1,446 redundancies in trusts and strategic health authorities by Dec 06, and 8 out of 10 were non-clinical staff. Where we can cut the number of admin jobs, we have done."

Would anyone care to 'fisk' that?

Hewitt is closing maternity units and trying to force women to have babies at home. The TES reveals one of her stealth strategies. She is trying to starve them out. Unbelievable



The wonderful Dovegreyreader (a Deveonhire based bookaholic, sock-knitting quilter who happens to be a community nurse) writes about nursing as it used to be. But why does she have a lavatory plunger on her head?

The DK turns his mind to the reclassification of dangerous drugs – he seems to think the medical profession has missed a commercial opportunity.



Shinga takes a long hard look at homeopathy.

Dawn’s new site, Giving Birth, asks “What is the best sexual position for getting pregnant?"





Dumbing down the NHS? What do doctors really think about nurses and pharmacists prescribing? It is all here, courtesy of the Ferret Fancier. Read it quickly, because the government is trying to suppress it.

"The little black duck's quackometer blog" is on form again.

Following on from my last post about whether the people that run quack web sites are deeply deluded or just plain old frauds, I had to share this gem with you. For all aficionados of quackery, this is truly a collectors item to be savoured.

Read and enjoy: Go on, you deserve it. Slap yourself with a Healing Broom

Tom Reynolds looks at the issues surrounding “choice” in the NHS

The Angry Medic is not overworked, it seems.

"Term ended at Cambridge last week and the holidays have already started..."

It’s all right for some!

Life with Leukaemia tells it how it really is with the MacMillan Nurses

A paediatrician writes:

Has the government gone mad? I work in community paeds and this is absolute nonsense. And at the same they are stopping the tried and tested method of HV assessments. Why oh why?! Why does any government need to know at what age we found our toes? It’s terrifying.

She is referring to this.

It costs £250,000 to train a doctor. “I’m a medical student, get me out of here…” does some sums and asks where TF the money goes.

A young woman who was not well served by the medical profession.

In memory of Sally Clark.

I'm still enjoying being a medical student (particularly the social aspects!) but I can honestly say that the shine has well and truly worn off.

Hospital Phoenix says “Dad knows best”

The BBC reported today on a study into the effects of infantile meningitis on exam success later in life. I was a subject to that study. When I was 8 months old I spent 3 weeks in hospital diagnosed with bacterial meningitis, and luckily survived.

Who is the new girl kissing the doctor?

Autism – a blog at the spectrum takes a look at the return of the night terrors.

I am a average doctor...All day I was watching the funding being pulled from most services that benefit patients. Again I watch and look and think about how best to find different and more inventive ways to ensure the patients do not suffer. I then drive home to find that people do live in a different dimension.

Steve says I can only say good things about the NHS

Doctor This is fed up with the term junior hospital doctors.

“I am not a consultant, but I feel that the term 'junior doctor' requires a little qualification. I started at medical school in 1992, qualified as a doctor in 1998, and have worked as a registrar (middle grade doctor) since 2003.”

Are devout Christians by definition psychiatrically disturbed?

“I first ran up against this issue in medical school - the issue that may cause other doctors to think I have an "as yet poorly understood psychological process," and normal people to think I am a bit loopy - the fact that I believe that I hear God speak to me.”

A fascinating article by the Yorkshire based Doctor/Woman

Mumsnet compares Indian and UK obstetric care

Meanwhile, Gina Ford of Contented Baby.com has fallen out with Mumsnet. This sad dispute highlights the dangers of unguarded remarks. Essential reading.Gina Ford's lawyers are allegedly trying to close Mumsnet down. Shame. Two excellent resources. Each side of the story can be found here and here.

UK Gay.com is worried that the UK’s excellent track record of the treatment of HIV may now be threatened by government bureaucracy.

GPs become frustrated when patients make appointments for dental problems. But look at it from the other side. Liverpool Leftovers desperately needed dental help. NHS DIRECT? Or maybe Tele-medicine!

He rang NHS Direct Sunday morning, who gave him the number for an emergency dentist. But he just said to call his own dentist Monday morning. Fine, but his dentist is only working part time, so isn't there on Mondays. Apparently John has bone loss from his jaw, and the abscess isn't on a tooth…….

It goes from bad to worse. Full story here.

Emily, still struggling with post-natal depression, took the Murdoch dollar for A place in the Sun

In “the seedy side of the NHS” Andy slags off a GP who sticks to the letter of the law on certification. Where does your sympathy lie? (Odd problems accessing the specific article - the dreaded 404 keeps appearing - however, click on the main title to get the front page : the article is someway down, dated 23 March - there are a couple of excellent comments)



The simplicity blog asks an appropriately simple question:

Imagine now just for moment that Richard Branson was running the NHS with £100 billion pounds turnover and a sales force of 1.3 million people - do you think it would be a more efficient organisation than the current NHS? – I do

My question is – is this simply about leadership?

Ask Tony Blair to scrap “Choose and Book” here.

Breath Spa for Kids takes a long look at some of the odd medicine inflicted on children with alleged allergy.

Rita, at NHS Exposed has her head above the parapet again. When doesn’t she!

The General Medical council has today demonstrated, yet again, that it is incapable of adequately carrying out its statutory duty to regulate the medical profession…
…Clearly, the case examiners have approached this matter in a disturbingly short-sighted, if not willfully unobservant, manner.

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The MTAS/MMC Week

It will probably help your anguish if y9ou listen to this whilst you read through the next few posts.

Studying for nothing***

And then are the "great and the good" of the medical profession trying to help their junior colleagues? Sensationally, the BMA has pulled out of the review panel with an official seal of disapproval. Full details in "The MTAS DEN"


It was the week of the Templeton/Black email.

Frontpointsystems continues with his incisive investigative commentary on MTAS and MMC. Too many articles to mention. Take a look at the whole site.

The Ferret Fancier does not mince his words. Dr Crippen described the MTAS change of policy as “capitulation”; but it seems it is more “out of the frying pan, into the fire” for the doctors:

The latest on MTAS is nothing short of a disgrace. There is another fudge of the process and a letter from Alan Crockard.

Vicky Ford agress that MTAS is not over yet, and Mumsformedics is seething


MMC360 says:

Whilst on the 'historical' anti-MMC March through London, I was pleased to meet a nice woman (Rachel Noar) from October Films (click here to view their website). She seemed very proactive in the stereotypical media style way!Anyhow, they are very keen on following a few doctors who will be or are considering leaving the NHS this year. They want as many doctors as possible to contact them. They contacted me again yesterday and I agreed to plug their mission on the MMC blogger!

Is Patricia Hewitt wilting? Not yet it seems. The Psychiatrist illustrates Patricia Hewitt's chewbacca defense technique.

Where ARE all the doctors going to go. Don Campbell from New Zealand gives us a clue here.

Skipping and singing says:

It has only made me feel even more depressed about my future as a doctor working in this country. I hate the idea that even if I work my socks of and try my very best to the detriment of having a life (medicine takes over dammit!) I could still end up unemployed. Everyone told me to keep the hell away from medicine when I applied, but I didn't want to listen to them. Maybe I should have.

Meanwhile, at the DK, standards are slipping.

The Bloody Devil Award is for people who fisk objects of public derision but who also pepper the post with gratuitous but intensely satisfying insults. Except, in the case of Patsy Hewitt we have had to relax the rules somewhat, as there are no insults too gratuitous for that sack of shit.

That's right, Bloody Devil #15 is awarded to Dr Rant. And who knows how many of Dr Rant's pieces influenced the Devil. Probably this, amongst others:

Will the lying bitch Hewitt ever apologise? Yes, Dr Rant is off again.

And then the Ferret Fancier, yes him again, discovers that Lord Hunt is a liar. I will repeat that. Lord Hunt is a liar. So many doctors ' applications were received by MTAS that the selection process was dumbed down to non-clinicians. Oh God, Dr Crippen awaits the arrival of the doctor-culling nurse specialist. It is all here in Evidence of Lord Hunt lies.

SHP has had enough of MMC & MTAS, so she has reformatted her blog and changed colour. A change is a good as a rest.

Dr Grumble covers the controversy over the President of the Royal College of Physicians. Take a look here


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Please send your recommendations for next week’s BritMeds to: thebritmedsATnhsblogdoc.wanadoo.co.uk

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Today's music was brought to you courtesy of the extraordinary Doghorse, who writes:

I think there may be more to come on this subject - I'm not a medic but my girlfriend and co-writer is: she's one of Patsy's Pariahs, and is suitably pissed off.

His main website is Stablesound, where he says:

A couple of songs for Patricia Hewitt

The Department of Health has decided that the best way to provide more trained doctors in UK hospitals is to, er, reduce the number of doctors in training. I can't quite work out the arithmetic there, so in my confusion I did a couple of songs instead. Study for Nothing, and Big Yellow Tax Money Pissed Down The Drain. Enjoy! And please SIGN THE PETITION to get rid of Patsy. Ta!

Stablesound writes songs and creates animations to order.