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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/jul/16/why-jeremy-hunt-wrong-nhs-medical-staff-respond
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| Why Jeremy Hunt is wrong: NHS medical staff respond to ultimatum | Why Jeremy Hunt is wrong: NHS medical staff respond to ultimatum |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| Health secretary Jeremy Hunt has given NHS consultants an ultimatum: agree to work weekends within six weeks, or a seven-day contract and cuts to overtime pay will be imposed from April 2017, he said in a speech at the King’s Fund in London. | Health secretary Jeremy Hunt has given NHS consultants an ultimatum: agree to work weekends within six weeks, or a seven-day contract and cuts to overtime pay will be imposed from April 2017, he said in a speech at the King’s Fund in London. |
| The British Medical Association (BMA) called Hunt’s plans a “wholesale attack on doctors” and said that the government was attempting to distract from its lack of investment in emergency care. | The British Medical Association (BMA) called Hunt’s plans a “wholesale attack on doctors” and said that the government was attempting to distract from its lack of investment in emergency care. |
| The head of the BMA, Dr Mark Porter, told the BBC that doctors supported an improved, seven-day NHS service, but other factors were to blame, including a lack of resources. | The head of the BMA, Dr Mark Porter, told the BBC that doctors supported an improved, seven-day NHS service, but other factors were to blame, including a lack of resources. |
| We asked NHS medical staff what they think of Jeremy Hunt’s comments, and the reality of imposing seven-day weeks on consultants. | We asked NHS medical staff what they think of Jeremy Hunt’s comments, and the reality of imposing seven-day weeks on consultants. |
| Dr Richard Wenstone, consultant intensivist, Royal Liverpool University hospital | Dr Richard Wenstone, consultant intensivist, Royal Liverpool University hospital |
| “Jeremy Hunt is making an easy target of consultants, when the the real problem lies across a wider spectrum of hospital staffing. The problem is that other services are not available at weekends: there is reduced availability of radiological and biochemical investigations, physiotherapy, dietetics, speech and language services, canteen facilities and so on. | “Jeremy Hunt is making an easy target of consultants, when the the real problem lies across a wider spectrum of hospital staffing. The problem is that other services are not available at weekends: there is reduced availability of radiological and biochemical investigations, physiotherapy, dietetics, speech and language services, canteen facilities and so on. |
| “Imposing a contract rather than negotiating one is going to go down like a lead balloon and will serve to alienate even those consultants, such as myself, who have always willingly worked rostered weekends to provide best possible care for patients.” | “Imposing a contract rather than negotiating one is going to go down like a lead balloon and will serve to alienate even those consultants, such as myself, who have always willingly worked rostered weekends to provide best possible care for patients.” |
| The European working time directive allows doctors to work a certain number of hours a week, this is for patient safety | The European working time directive allows doctors to work a certain number of hours a week, this is for patient safety |
| Junior ward doctor | Junior ward doctor |
| “Jeremy Hunt’s comments are short-sighted and a failure to understand that a seven-day service requires a whole NHS review. | |
| “Every patient has to be seen within 24 hours regardless if it’s the weekend or not. Anyone who comes in overnight on Saturday, will be seen on Sunday. At the weekends the problem lies further down the line in getting basic things done like blood tests and phlebotomy services. There are also limited pharmacy services at the weekends | “Every patient has to be seen within 24 hours regardless if it’s the weekend or not. Anyone who comes in overnight on Saturday, will be seen on Sunday. At the weekends the problem lies further down the line in getting basic things done like blood tests and phlebotomy services. There are also limited pharmacy services at the weekends |
| “It might be that I have to take the bloods which is hugely inefficient. How can we as doctors do any of our jobs properly? | “It might be that I have to take the bloods which is hugely inefficient. How can we as doctors do any of our jobs properly? |
| Related: Seven-day NHS plan could lead to big staff shortages, says pay review | Related: Seven-day NHS plan could lead to big staff shortages, says pay review |
| “Consultants are just one group of people and most work weekends. It’s easy to pick at a group of perceived privileged individuals. It makes a media storm. You can’t conflate two issues – consultant contracts and a seven-day service – to suggest that if every consultant came in every Saturday and the NHS would be fixed – that’s what he’s trying to suggest. There are smaller problems that require joined-up thinking.” | “Consultants are just one group of people and most work weekends. It’s easy to pick at a group of perceived privileged individuals. It makes a media storm. You can’t conflate two issues – consultant contracts and a seven-day service – to suggest that if every consultant came in every Saturday and the NHS would be fixed – that’s what he’s trying to suggest. There are smaller problems that require joined-up thinking.” |
| Doctor, Royal Marsden hospital | Doctor, Royal Marsden hospital |
| “Jeremy Hunt seems to have no idea why doctors do the job they do and instead is determined to paint a picture in the press of work-shy money-grabbing professionals. | “Jeremy Hunt seems to have no idea why doctors do the job they do and instead is determined to paint a picture in the press of work-shy money-grabbing professionals. |
| “Consultants and registrars routinely start at 7.30am and work though to 7-8pm despite their working hours officially being 8.30-5pm. A more appropriate response might be to work alongside doctors and invest more funds in nursing homes and community elderly care to reduce the pressure on hospitals rather than distracting the public with scaremongering rhetoric about hospital doctors. | “Consultants and registrars routinely start at 7.30am and work though to 7-8pm despite their working hours officially being 8.30-5pm. A more appropriate response might be to work alongside doctors and invest more funds in nursing homes and community elderly care to reduce the pressure on hospitals rather than distracting the public with scaremongering rhetoric about hospital doctors. |
| “Jeremy Hunt has no idea what doctors actually think. Yes the seven-day NHS is an excellent idea but more consultant time is not the way to achieve it. More resources are needed in nursing staff, healthcare assistants, porters and imaging technicians – all of these are currently in short supply so all of these would have to be recruited. | “Jeremy Hunt has no idea what doctors actually think. Yes the seven-day NHS is an excellent idea but more consultant time is not the way to achieve it. More resources are needed in nursing staff, healthcare assistants, porters and imaging technicians – all of these are currently in short supply so all of these would have to be recruited. |
| “The European working time directive only allows doctors to work a certain number of hours a week, this is key for patient safety. If you make consultants work at weekends without providing any more consultants then all you will end up with is a shortage of consultants during the week. | “The European working time directive only allows doctors to work a certain number of hours a week, this is key for patient safety. If you make consultants work at weekends without providing any more consultants then all you will end up with is a shortage of consultants during the week. |
| “There aren’t any spare consultants who could do these hours – recruiting doctors into acute medical specialties is already hard and all that will happen is that more doctors will leave, compounding the problem. | “There aren’t any spare consultants who could do these hours – recruiting doctors into acute medical specialties is already hard and all that will happen is that more doctors will leave, compounding the problem. |
| “Attacking hospital consultants in the press, whilst having already destroyed GP reputations, undermines public trust in the NHS, angers medical professionals and ultimately makes Jeremy Hunt look ill-informed and inflammatory.” | “Attacking hospital consultants in the press, whilst having already destroyed GP reputations, undermines public trust in the NHS, angers medical professionals and ultimately makes Jeremy Hunt look ill-informed and inflammatory.” |
| Consultant cardiologist | Consultant cardiologist |
| “There are only so many doctors; and at the moment we can’t keep up with what we are doing right now. So to change things around we need a plan, we need more of us and we need all the other staff there as well. | “There are only so many doctors; and at the moment we can’t keep up with what we are doing right now. So to change things around we need a plan, we need more of us and we need all the other staff there as well. |
| “Jeremy Hunt has no plan, no more doctors, and no magic ability to create all this stuff. Making a huff and puff about people like me who are already working really hard is nonsense, and misses the point entirely. | “Jeremy Hunt has no plan, no more doctors, and no magic ability to create all this stuff. Making a huff and puff about people like me who are already working really hard is nonsense, and misses the point entirely. |
| “I have just worked all week, as usual in excess of my contracted hours, and like all my colleagues I’ve not been paid any overtime for the extra hours we all routinely work. | “I have just worked all week, as usual in excess of my contracted hours, and like all my colleagues I’ve not been paid any overtime for the extra hours we all routinely work. |
| “After my normal working day tomorrow I will be on call the whole of next week. This means that at any time for seven days anyone can call me any time of day and request my help with an emergency. I go in to the hospital and perform life-saving procedures 24 hours a day, seven days a week. | “After my normal working day tomorrow I will be on call the whole of next week. This means that at any time for seven days anyone can call me any time of day and request my help with an emergency. I go in to the hospital and perform life-saving procedures 24 hours a day, seven days a week. |
| “On Saturday and Sunday I will review all of our patients who are on our coronary care unit, any potential discharges and any sick patients on our whole ward. | “On Saturday and Sunday I will review all of our patients who are on our coronary care unit, any potential discharges and any sick patients on our whole ward. |
| “On Monday I will be at work at 8am even if I have been awake most of Saturday and Sunday night. In the afternoons I will do clinics and procedures as well. After working 12 days in a row I will go home rather tired next Friday and sleep. I can’t do more than that! Can anyone?” | “On Monday I will be at work at 8am even if I have been awake most of Saturday and Sunday night. In the afternoons I will do clinics and procedures as well. After working 12 days in a row I will go home rather tired next Friday and sleep. I can’t do more than that! Can anyone?” |