FAO Sqad...

[sandyRoe]

If you were still in harness would you be unfurling the red flag and manning the picket lines today?

[rowanwitch]

don't be silly with half the competition out of the way he'd be homing in on some poor staff nurse with big knockers

[Sqad]

rowan........LOL.......too bloody right.....and also depending upon the quality of underwear ;-)

sandy.....I really have to be careful here as i will be accused of "knocking the NHS" yet again.

Doctors in the private sector..........cannot afford to go on strike.
Doctors in the NHS a public sector.....can and have the legal right to go on strike.

I have NEVER been a member of the BMA (doctor's union)

NO....I would NEVER strike....NEVER.....I went into medicine as a vocation and depending upon how well i performed in my chosen occupation, would depend on the size of my salary.

That is how i liked it and that is how it worked out for me.

[slaney]

I don't think you have to be careful Sqad, as disagreeing with the strike is in no way "knocking the NHS" - not the same thing at all. In fact one could argue it was supporting the NHS.

[rowanwitch]

The world has changed and everyone has to make adjustments we can't have what we had before because it is no longer affordable.

[Sqad]

slaney.........LOL.....

\\\\In fact one could argue it was supporting the NHS.\\\

Blimey, I would hate to lose my "street cred."...........;-)

[slaney]

Would hate to see you lose your street cred, Sqad!

In fact doctors have a point in their grievances.
Only 3/4 years ago they agreed to work longer, and contribute more for a smaller pension - all well and good in these changed times. Now they are being asked to undergo even more of the same.
All this in spite of the fact that the NHS pension scheme is in good health - it takes in two billion pounds a year more than it pays out.
Some will be paying up to 14.5% whereas civil servants on the same pay only pay 7.5%.

I'm not sure I would like to be operated on by a 68 year old surgeon.

As you say it goes completely against the grain to strike - it would have been more credible if action had been taken against the NHS Act, which, not now or next year, but in 5-10 years time may lead to a two-tier system, with some services being paid for from insurance.

[Sqad]

slaney

\\\\Only 3/4 years ago they agreed to work longer, and contribute more for a smaller pension -\\\\

i thought that it was completely the opposite......the agreement was a deal that involved MORE pay for more hours of opting out, a deal which the BMA could hardly believe.

Have i got this wrong?

[slaney]

Yes - you are talking about the GP deal which was much earlier about 2004, and completely different.
Hospital consultants did not ever have any opt-out of on call.

[Sqad]

slaney........thanks.

I was always of the impression that the BMA was for the GP's and that they saw the consultants as a "side line."

I was never a medico-political animal and hated committees and was too busy doing the job that i was paid to do.............patient management.

Also, my philosophy was quite simple......."just do what i say, when I say and we will all get along fine."

[starone]

Your answers have made me admire you even more, sqad. It is so reassuring to hear of someone who became a doctor because it was a vocation. This applies to other professions as well.

[Sqad]

starby.....LOL....c'mon...........I did it for the money as well.....;-)

[starone]

Shut up sqad. I do not want my illusions spoiled, especially by you. And I don't think anyone would be a doctor without getting paid well. There is no way I could look at the various ailments associated with the job or if a surgeon, to cut into human flesh, without a hefty pile of cash at the end of it.