Medical staffing in the NHS

I've mentioned before that doctors are unhappy (see post). Rachel Clarke, in a BMJ article, describes situations in which NHS HR fails to provide junior doctors "with a contract, rota, or confirmation of their salary in advance of starting work". She also describes an anecdote of an unwell junior doctor being told by HR "that they expected him to find his own locum cover, that the rota gap was his fault, and that it was unprofessional and unacceptable that he had not filled it".

Actually the NHS has always been poor about providing written contracts. It maybe seemed to matter less in the past when there was a good personal relationship with someone in medical staffing. One had confidence at least that one would be paid correctly. Rotas were often worked out by the doctors themselves, which gave them flexibility.

This goodwill has gone in the era of acountable, so-called patient-centred care. It's reasonable for doctors to expect the NHS to be accountable in the same way as they are.

The Laker Balcony has one of best views in world cricket and is so close to Pavilion balcony that it is almost extension of those facilities 30 Jul 2017, 19:56

I was there on Friday! 30 Jul 2017, 19:57

For the May, not the few

Academic critical psychiatry

I've never really been an academic in my working life, apart from being lecturer for 2¹/2 years in Sheffield 1989-92. Now I'm semi-retired and just doing 2 days clinical work as a consultant psychiatrist, I'm looking forward to going back to Trinity College, Cambridge in October to do a part-time PhD in the Department of Psychology on "The foundations of critical psychiatry" (see my critical psychiatry blog). If anyone's interested in funding the Institute of Critical Psychiatry, do let me know. Cambridge University may even be interested to know if you are.

The club of consultant psychiatrists

I started as a consultant psychiatrist 25 years ago today. This was in Sheffield. I had been told at my interview that it was like I was joining a club. I guess it has been a privileged position.

At that time, my contract was with Sheffield Health Authority, although I was working for the mental health service unit. This was before the days of NHS Trusts and Foundation Trusts. Consultant contracts were subsequently transferred to these provider organisations, even if, as I mentioned in my previous post, mine has been suspended twice. Health Authorities were also replaced by purchaser GP organisations, now called Clinical Commissioning Groups.