allycat: Please google doctors strike and see that doctors in the Uk are voting wether or not to go on industrial action.

naturalwaves: Honestly speaking,these doctors are ingrates,never satisfied.My friend who hasn't even gone 4 service and doing his housemanship gets 140k per month.Freshly appointed smallee doctors get close 2 260k per month.Almost all dose doctors av their own private clinics and dat's where they stay most of d tym abandoning their duty post.All they'r afta is ow 2 develop their private hospitals.Wen last were u at Lasuth? U need 2 see d degree of heartlessness dat's usually displayed by dz so called docs and nurses(dz 1s are worse).It is not their fault anyway,it's because nobody probes or questns a doc 4 d loss of life in dis useless part of d world unlike d US 4 e.g.Aside just building up doctors,they should teach dem character and gud behaviours as a course. In d olden days,doctors are lyk Angels,wen u see dem,u feel ur problems are ova and wen a nurse touches u,u feel secured.BUT now,they are lyk monsters,they behave as if they do not lyk d kind of job they do.If ministry workers,teachers and evry1 goes on strike,wat wil happen? cos a newly appointed teacher gets 56k. D doctors even operates on shifts and av their various areas f specializatn,it's not as if they all practice gen.medicine.Truth be told,these docs are ingrates and needs 2 considerate b4 they go on useless strikes.As 4 me,I dnt even want d govt 2 reinstate them.

naptu2: The Telegraph

A doctors’ strike would betray their patients.

By Sarah Wollaston

Last Updated: 9:36PM BST 15/05/2012

The BMA is being unrealistic in opposing reasonable increases in pension contributions.

This week, the British Medical Association is trying to persuade doctors to vote in favour of strike action – the first such action since 1975. In doing so, the BMA proves yet again how out of touch it has become with the interests of patients and doctors alike.

When I joined the BMA after qualifying as a doctor in 1986, I was unaware that it was a union. I had assumed that it was a professional organisation supporting standards and education. And like most doctors, I joined mainly for a free copy of the weekly British Medical Journal, which at that time was the only way to find out what jobs were available.

Now, in a “Pension Ballot Special”, a BMA newsletter tells members that the association has no choice but to vote on industrial action for a “fairer” approach. It splashes on the 14.5 per cent that, crucially, only the highest-paid doctors will have to contribute towards their pensions. It claims, misleadingly, that no patients would be harmed by industrial action.

The BMA tries to persuade GPs that they could open for their usual hours during industrial action but not carry out any pre-booked or routine appointments, or issue any repeat prescriptions. Likewise, hospital colleagues are invited to turn up and make decisions about what is or is not an emergency. The results would not only be farcical but dangerous: doctors would find themselves facing an exasperated and irritated public. If that sounds unreasonable, well, the BMA industrial relations officer will be on hand to give guidance. He or she can expect to be very busy. The public is unlikely to have much sympathy.

Thirty years ago it was different. Doctors were relatively overworked and underpaid, but their vocation and professionalism commanded public respect. Then, thanks to a spectacularly mishandled negotiation by Labour in the 1990s, the much-needed investment in the health services went towards large pay rises, hand in hand with a reduced service to the public. GPs ditched out-of-hours work and Saturday surgeries because ministers misjudged the relative value of payments to doctors for these services. In other words, they failed to ensure that patients’ needs were paramount.

Labour also waved through the European Working Time Directive, which undermined continuity of care and, if anything, worsened working conditions and training for junior doctors. Assuming that all consultants were on the golf course or seeing private patients, the Government insisted that they should be paid only for the time they spent on NHS work. It should have come as no surprise that it ended up paying even more because of unpaid time that consultants were previously giving to the service for free.

A decade later, doctors are well paid and few GPs work Saturdays or nights; their out-of-hours work has largely been delegated to others and continuity of care has been eroded. The public are simply not going to feel sorry for striking doctors who earn more than £100,000 per year, sometimes for a four-day week.

To put the issue into perspective, doctors earning more than £120,000 pay 8.4 per cent of that into their pension pot. This would eventually rise to 14.4 per cent, but for those on a salary of £45,000, contributions would rise to just 9.3 per cent, an extra 1.4 per cent after tax relief. To get an equivalent pension in the private sector would require about a third of the same salaries – and doctors are living about 10 years longer than they did in the 1970s.

The rest of the country has woken up to the reality of pension costs – and we may soon witness what happens to a country like Greece, which has failed to do so. No government wants to pick a fight over public sector pensions, but to ignore demographic and financial realities would dump the burden on the next generation. Why should our children pick up the tab?

I hope doctors will follow at least one aspect of the BMA’s advice: “Whatever your views, it’s vital you vote.”

I’m often asked what the difference is between being a GP and an MP. One wag put it like this: “About £40,000 a year.” I would add that, as an MP, I now pay 13.75 per cent towards my pension, and work evenings and many Saturdays. Of course, one of the main differences is the way people feel about you. I hadn’t realised how much people respected doctors until I entered Parliament. That support matters, and a vote for strike action over pensions is a sure way to lose it.

Perhaps every doctor should ask a friend in the private sector how much pension they will receive, and how much they must contribute. They might be in for a shock. The BMA have made the wrong call; this is an unnecessary strike that would not be victimless. I sincerely hope that doctors will vote to put their patients first.

Dr Sarah Wollaston is Conservative MP for Totnes and a former GP

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9267399/A-doctors-strike-would-betray-their-patients.html

Mynd_44:
Personally, I think they should be prosecuted for murder

Sagamite: If I was Fashola, I would take them back on the following terms:

- They will be employed at the grade below their previous level and with its corresponding pay. Anyone that was at the entry grade would hence spend an extra year at that grade and pay.

- They are all on two year probation/contract. Hence if you take the offer and then start to cause trouble or be non-cooperative you would get the boot easily.

- Any ineterested person has to sign the punitive contract within 2 weeks.

texazzpete:

1. Where did you hear that fresh doctors get N260k monthly? Entry level doctors in Lagos state are not even taking home 200k monthly. Even the state commissioner for health has corroborated this several times. Why are you spouting such m0r0nic lies?

2. You say most doctors have private clinics. Do you have any idea how much it costs to build a private clinic? Can YOU build a 3 bedroom bungalow in any decent area in Lagos on 200k monthly?

3. You complain about Doctors now no longer acting angelic and that they are not comparable to their counterparts in the US. Have you, in your infinite imbecility, considered how much doctors earn in the US compared to this hellhole called Nigeria? Do you expect a doctor who has to feed a family, transport himself and clothe himself to be ecstatic at work for N140k monthly? Do you have any idea on how many patients a Lagos doctor sees per day?

texazzpete:

Please learn to read your post before you post it. The MP cannot dredge up sympathy for doctors to strike when they earn more than 100000 pounds per year

Do I need to tell you how much 100000 pounds in Nigerian money is? Do you think any medical doctor earning half of that in Nigeria will have cause to grumble?

Let the UK Government slash doctors salaries to 30000 pounds per year and see how the doctors will take it.

naptu2:




Teachers in Lagos earn the same salary as their counterparts in the UK. Accountants in Lagos earn the same salary as accountants in the UK. A loaf of bread costs the same in the UK and Nigeria.

naturalwaves: Lol.I wonder o.U beta tell him cos I wonder wat will happen if every govt worker goes on strike cos they do not earn same salary as their foreign counterparts.

ziga:

Your point here is null because you refuse to even look at his point of view.

And my answer to you is that the docs were not requesting to be paid the same as UK docs. They were asking for the implementation of CONMESS, which had been previously agreed on.

Come on guys. . . Is that too much to ask? You are here talking about docs leaving their duty post. You really think it is about greed?

If you employ houseboy and you work him like a horse and you no feed or pay am appropriately, he will eventually either rob you or kill you!!!

naturalwaves: @Ziga,Y was he then comparing them 2 docs in d UK.Moreover,wat wil b d content f d said agreement if not beta pay packages e.t.c.Although,it's not a gud thing 2 make promises witout fulfilling them,d best approach 2 such issues is not by endagering d lives of helpless patients.D govt needs 2 be beta and d docs need 2 be more beta.D last tym a fam.member was at LASUTH,I had 2 call a friend who is a doc ova there b4 she kuld be attended 2.Attendance wz based on connection.Can U imagine! I av just one prayer 4 U.I PRAY U WON'T AV A CAUSE 2 VISIT LASUTH.Did I hear u say Amen?

naturalwaves: @Ziga,Y was he then comparing them 2 docs in d UK.Moreover,wat wil b d content f d said agreement if not beta pay packages e.t.c.Although,it's not a gud thing 2 make promises witout fulfilling them,d best approach 2 such issues is not by endagering d lives of helpless patients.D govt needs 2 be beta and d docs need 2 be more beta.D last tym a fam.member was at LASUTH,I had 2 call a friend who is a doc ova there b4 she kuld be attended 2.Attendance wz based on connection.Can U imagine! I av just one prayer 4 U.I PRAY U WON'T AV A CAUSE 2 VISIT LASUTH.Did I hear u say Amen?

allycat:

I used to work in LASUTH so let me reply to your statement that u need to know someone to be seen! When you have over a hundred new patients showing up each week and just a handful of doctors to attend to them, you definitely will have a long waiting list. However one of the few perks of being a doc or medical person is you can call in a favor ie ask a collegues to help you see someone knowing that one day you too will need help. Before the strike our waiting list was up to nov 2012 and that is because each week we see about 30 to 50 new patients and about 200 old patients. In between we still see emergencies,operate and take care of patients on the ward and since it is a teaching hospital, give lec true to medical students and find time for practical teaching sessions.. The government wants 1 person to do the job of 5 and wants the best from those people. The truth Is that for me to fully examine a patient as a specialist I will need at least 30 minutes per patient. Multiply that by 30 and you will see that no patient is getting that kind of attention. Nowadays everybody wants to come to LASUTH even for malaria. Unfortunately doctors are running away. Residents only come to LASUTH if they cannot get into other teaching hospitals and even those that do come in. Of every 5 that take up an appointment 3 leave within a year. Leaving the remaining doctors even more overworked
I don't do any PP at present but if today a doctor calls me to attend to his family member , I will do so! Any other person I will direct them to a hospital government or private.

naturalwaves: @Ziga,Y was he then comparing them 2 docs in d UK.Moreover,wat wil b d content f d said agreement if not beta pay packages e.t.c.Although,it's not a gud thing 2 make promises witout fulfilling them,d best approach 2 such issues is not by endagering d lives of helpless patients.D govt needs 2 be beta and d docs need 2 be more beta.D last tym a fam.member was at LASUTH,I had 2 call a friend who is a doc ova there b4 she kuld be attended 2.Attendance wz based on connection.Can U imagine! I av just one prayer 4 U.I PRAY U WON'T AV A CAUSE 2 VISIT LASUTH.Did I hear u say Amen?

naptu2:




Teachers in Lagos earn the same salary as their counterparts in the UK. Accountants in Lagos earn the same salary as accountants in the UK. A loaf of bread costs the same in the UK and Nigeria.

naturalwaves: Na wa o.It's obvious u guys work so hard going by d fact dat d patients out numbers d available docs just lyk d way d students far out numbers teachers in govt.schools.E ku ise! but dose 1s abandoning their duty post shuld try and stay there.Now, I think d most logically importantl thing 4 d govt 2 do is 2 employ more hands and both parties shuld 4get about agreements 4 now.Anyway,tnx 4 d lil eduction based on ur experience.

naturalwaves: @Texazzpele,here are ur replies;

3)Evryone knows money is a gud source of motivatn.Does dat mean dat,If u do not get motivated(not being owed salaries),u shuld approach ur job wit heartlessness? D earlier dz docs realise dat going 2 do medicine is a personal choice,d beta 4 dem.They see themselves as tin gods.I av a couple f friends dat managed 2 get a B3 in Biology wich is d basis 4 Biology,I got an A1(didn't want medicine) and they are studying med.D point is; CHOICE.I felt I needed more compassn, patience and love 2 be a med.doctor not knowing dat I was even beta wit dem.

naturalwaves: @Texazzpele,here are ur replies;

4)Ow dare u compare Nig. docs wit their foreign counterpts,d margin is 2 wide wit respect 2 evrytn.If a nig doc finds himself abroad,he wil only b carrying trays afta doctors ova there.He will greatly prove his worth b4 he can be given a patient 2 handle talkless f being given d chance 4 med procedures.

naturalwaves: @Texazzpele,here are ur replies;

U don't even know me and u av d guts 2 tell me dat 'in my infinite imbecility'. Well,if my imbecility is infinite,then UR SANITY IS FINITE AND IT EXPIRED FEW SECONDS B4 U TYPED UR COMMENT.U must be an educated thug.Learn ow 2 conversate,debate and argue in a responsible manner.