However, we are now trying to import people to shore up the services that cannot be staffed by those already here…
…An ex UK doctor was talking about medical services here and in Australia where he went to work. The medical IT meant that he spent about 2 hours per week on paperwork – including PC time and about 38 hours out of his 40 dealing with patients. Here he worked far more hours saw fewer patients and had no job satisfaction. Sorry to say that several things conflict in the NHS to limit progress, mindsets, NIH and pure bloody mindedness.
Unfortunately, it’s not the case that staff here *can’t* do the jobs, it’s often the case that they *won’t*, and I don’t blame them. Take your newly Australian GP. He’s given up on a good job here to do what the job should be, but in another country. If GPs were given better support and general admin throughout the NHS wasn’t as bloody awful as it is, I doubt that a lot of them would be looking elsewhere.
As a frequent flyer in hospital over the last few years, I’ve seen the situation that the politicians claim doesn’t exist. I’ve been on a ward over a weekend, and only seen the same doctor on call for the whole time – usually from Friday evening until early Monday morning. As you’d imagine, it was a junior doctor, with a senior doctor’s contact details for emergencies. I’ve seen one junior doctor covering more than one ward, and sometimes in other specialities, just because there was no one else available. Once they complete their training, they can go where they like, including moving abroad. Now imagine going through regular shifts like that, seeing the government claim that there is no problem, then realising that you can emigrate to a new country where you feel appreciated and get less crap, for want of a better word.
Once they get above a certain level, doctors get their own teams, and get a lot less of the admin side of the job thanks to secretaries etc., so working in the NHS isn’t as bad. That’s where we get the ‘imported’ doctors. At that level they’re doing the jobs they dreamed of when they started their medical training.
As an aside, if you find that notes are not passed around hospitals and doctors as quickly as they should be, try getting your doctor registered with Patient View. It’s a website and app that lets you view your own results, and as I understand it, once any results are entered onto the system in a registered medical centre, they appear on the site. I use it whenever I have to visit my GP, as it’s more up to date than his notes…
https://www.patientview.org/
