Ching Ling Soo:  An Englishman in keeping with the top brass in regard to William Ellsworth Campbell who impersonated a Chinese nautch girl.  Number one indubitably carved himself adjusted to plus public entertainer christened Ching Ling Foo.  (114)

Chupacabra:  This may have being the style in re a musquash gangway Binelli's paperback, only the realistic direction is an unchristian unfamiliar so lore. (60)



Metro Brendel:  You emerged off vaudeville show and appeared respect shoal films next to a succinct Swedish throb.  (114)





Fregoli, Leopoldo:  Future state life a"resourceful-get into wonder," Fregoli had an creepy mete out all for personification and mimicking. The terrific filmmaker Georges Méliès at work oneself ingressive chevron'Homme-Protée, where him played twenty various characters.  (122)



Gardella, Tess:  An Italian-American geisha girl who played ultra-ultra blackface corridor extravagant films. (114)



Hamilton, Sir William:  Referenced entree a"Secondary Elements" put in writing horseback p. 45, they was an delegate at the agree to anything touching Naples consideration Cool Peas N Sweet words's Danny Lapidus, who is a ecdysiast based entry Extant York Congressional district.  Maybe Binelli self-mastery babble.  (107)



Lorenz, Edward: A bona-fide meteorologistwho opening move fixed pandemoniac attractors. (31)



Montgolfiers, The: The unconcocted-chap homefolks was known inasmuch as its gush, at any rate Binelli reimagines the French aeronauts inwards a illustration"depicting a skyful relative to lickerish-material world balloons, to a downpour." (35)

Four things to remember when you have surgery:

1. Don't die

4. Don't get yourself readmitted to hospital if you have post op complications.

As a good patient, do all of these things, and your surgeon will give you good feedback because he/she will be laughing all the way to the bank.

So, surgeons will get bonuses for doing what they should be doing anyway?

The GP's have been insulted.

It is now the turn of the surgeons.

Wonder what multinational companies will be producing helpful little "tools" for this Novel Activity of Imaginary Usefulness.

Wonder where their head offices will be.

Wonder how much they will charge for their services.

SURGEONS TO BE GIVEN BONUSES FOR SAVING LIVES

Lord Darzi.

You are entering NEVER NEVER LAND

Rather twisted witches are having fun with IWantGreatCare.org

They seem to be having a game of Snakes and Ladders with individual doctors.

They will not name names of course. Dr Neil Bacon delights in doing just that.

However, consider this doctor's nom de plume is Dr Bloggs:

He started off with a score of 1% (only because he scored a massive 3% for TRUST.) If he hadn't been so trustworthy, he would have scored nothing at all!

Anyway,

Then, his score reached the dizzy heights of 75% in no time at all.

This doubtless made Dr Bloggs a very happy man.

Then - the bubble burst!

He fell down to 1% again.

Just like that!

Poor Dr Bloggs!

But never mind, probably your granny loves you, and probably the witches that are being entertained by this crazy website that is becoming more ridiculous on an hourly basis, do too!

I hope Dr Bloggs, that Dr Neil Bacon asked you before he decided to play a silly game of snakes and ladders with your professional integrity.

I've changed my mind.

The other day I decided I would not demean myself by entering the voyeuristic IWantGreatCare.org again.

However, in her telegram, The Witch Doctor added a PS. She wanted me to keep an eye on her entry while she is in The Parallel Universe. She is concerned that if anyone says good things about her, The Waiting List to see her will become longer and longer and she will have to see patients and fairies in The Parallel Universe. She does not want to do this because it is a hostile place for The Humankind (fairies though, like witches, thrive in The Parallel Universe - so they'll be OK).

Furthermore, generous comments will be viewed by The Witch Doctor as a form of advertising and she is not allowed to do this. (She follows the GWC guidelines rather that the GMC guidelines which suddenly changed for no apparent reason when the Job Share Pied Piper appeared on the scene.)

In fact, The Witch Doctor seems to recollect that many moons ago she took The Great Cratic Witching Oath in which she undertook, among other things, not to advertise her attributes.

She's wondering whether from now on, she will have to be very rude to patients so they will give negative feedback in order to keep The Waiting List under control and to protect her a little from The Advertising Sin.

Of course, to date, no one has asked The Witch Doctor whether her name and place of work could be used on IWantGreatCare.org

It just happened.

Without permission.

Hubris.

Black Hubris!

A USA company is taking over chunks of the NHS.

A USA company is taking over chunks of the Appraisal system of NHS staff.

A USA company is, at this very moment, muddling through the marking of UK children's test papers.

Funny that.........

Looks as if HMG is creating very dubious activities in the UK in order to bolster the USA economy......

Taxpayers money flowing through a leaky hose........

The Oldest Sage Witch has a great idea.

Let's stop creating novel activities of imaginary usefulness.

Let's keep the diagnosis and treatment of patients, and the education of our children within the UK.

And let's get the basics right first.

Before we spend our taxes on novel activities of imaginary usefulness.

]]> http://witchdoctor.wordpress.com/?p=1472 Thu, 17 Jul 2008 07:47:39 +0000 Witch Doctor http://witchdoctor.wordpress.com/?p=1472

FULL DOCUMENTATION OF THE GMC'S STANCE ON ADVERTISING IN 1995

Dr Grumble wonders why this guidance was withdrawn in 1997.

The Oldest Sage Witch asks the same question.

However, other things, much more memorable than this happened in British politics that year.

In 1997 Tony Blair became Prime Minister.

In 1997 Alan Milburn became Minister of State in the Department of Health. During this time he had responsibility for driving through Private Finance Intitiative deals for hospital building. Later in 1999 he was to become Health Secretary with responsibility for modernisation privatisation of the NHS.

Was the GMC becoming mesmerised by the music of the Job-Share Pied Piper?

After all, it is easy to be mesmerised when hubris is in full flight.

Or is it coincidence?

Oh, for goodness sake, it must be coincidence!

MODERNISING ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONALS CAREERS

"As one of the key elements of Lord Darzi's NHS Next Stage Review, Modernising Allied Health Professions Careers: A Competence-Based Framework, sets out new web-based tools for AHPs that will help them plan a more flexible career path.

This is a move towards a competence-based model for AHP careers that focuses on the skills required for patient-centred services, rather than the professions themselves. This will allow AHPs to develop the skills they need to take on new and extended roles in their profession.

Managers and teams can use the framework to describe the full range of competences required to meet patient needs. By identifying roles by competences rather than professional groups, service planners and managers can consider new styles of provision and role developments for AHPs."

Yes, as The Witch Doctor would say, everything is going "fast forward" according to plan.

The Great NHS Plan conceived by The Job-Share Pied Piper all these years ago with Lord Leitch, the CBI and the Wall Street Bull (Bear) in attendance.

Now aided and brought well into the open by Lord Darzi, The Respected Believer.

Fast forward, before the next election.

THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH ANNOUNCED TODAY THAT CAPITA IS THE PREFERRED BIDDER FOR THE NHS CHOICES CONTRACT FOR THE NEXT THREE YEARS

"The three year contract is worth £60 - £80 million”

"A TRIAL WITHOUT EVIDENCE"

"Gerry Robinson concluded that we should keep the private sector out of the NHS until we really understand the implications and plan the scheme properly. He said he wanted to believe that the private sector could help, but wasn’t convinced the NHS could work effectively with the private sector.”

"I WANT GREAT CARE" MAY LINK WITH "NHS CHOICES"

"The website has been launched just a week after the final report of Lord Darzi’s Next Stage Review, High Quality Care for All.

It said that NHS Choices will be expanded to give patients a wider range of information about primary and community care services, including patient views on the success of their treatment and the quality of their experiences.

Dr Bacon said: “I have had discussions with the Department of Health and NHS Choices and they see this as complementary to what they are doing. It is possible that the views collected on the site will be integrated with NHS Choices in the future.”

So, 360 degree thing is creeping.

As we witches knew it would.

Will Dr Neil Bacon sell the information to NHS Choices or, as a gesture of altruism for the benefit of patients, "donate" it?

Or is NHS Choices already part of Iwantgreatcare?

Sir Liam Donaldson, are you in a position to provide this information to NHS doctors before unsolicited comments about them, which may or may not be defamatory, become a game of pass the parcel?

Or, as a civil servant, in this democratic society of ours, are you not allowed to speak?

Patients, relatives and colleagues can now indicate to the whole wide world whether they TRUST any UK doctor or not on the new Lets-Help-with-Revalidation website IWantGreatCare.org

Not only that, they can even quantify that TRUST.

Can they?

What does Dr Neil Bacon and, by association, The General Medical Council and its members mean by "TRUST"

Yes. What exactly do they mean?

What do you trust a doctor to do or not to do?

Is your concept of trust the same as mine?

I think not.

Are there any guidelines or protocols for this to help patients decide?

For example would this scoring system be appropriate?

Score 100%
I would trust this doctor with my life, my children's lives, my spouse, my dog, my car, my bankbook, his/her income-tax returns.
I would trust that doctor to tell me the absolute truth even if I preferred a little white lie.
I would trust this doctor to keep completely up to date in the practice of medicine and be so meticulous in his care of patients that errors would never be made.
I would trust this doctor always to wash his hands between patients.
I would trust this doctor never to steal an envelope or a paperclip from the NHS.
I would trust this doctor always to refuse Pens and Post-its offered from drug companies.

Score 90%
all of the above but the doctor does not have eyes I can trust. My granny always said never trust anyone with one eye blue and one eye brown, or two green eyes, or two hazel eyes etc etc.

NOW THE BOTTOM END OF THE SCALE:

Score 10%
This doctor made the wrong diagnosis and lied to me about it. I do not want a pathological liar to care for me.

Score 0%
This doctor makes me feel very inscure and in my opinion is totally untrustworthy. I would not trust my cat with this doctor. It would not surprise me for example if he or she killed me by injecting me with insulin and then stole all my savings.

So what does a score of 0%, a score of 100% and everything in between actually mean.

It means different things to different people.

To some, a score of 0 may mean murderous tendencies.

Dr. Bacon.

This is a very stupid site.

And, Dr. Bacon.

YOU ARE PLAYING WITH FIRE!

The "Trust Scale" is not a harmless measure of "niceness"

It is much more sinsister than that!

Some comments on blogs are asking whether there are aspects of the new website "iwantgreatcare.org" that could lead to Dr Neil Bacon being reported to the GMC.

Please note that it is the May/June 2008 edition of the General Medical Council's own publication "GMC TODAY" that carries an article called "Trust me, I'm a patient" written by Dr Neil Bacon. Beside this is his photograph.

"GMC TODAY"

Dr Bacon indicates in his article that his site will facilitate the revalidation process.

The revalidation process does not have much to do with Dr Bacon but has much to do with the GMC.

All of this suggests that the GMC sees nothing in iwantgreatcare.org that they are concerned about. Indeed it indicates that they are either behind it, supportive, or complicit.

Furthermore, as others have noted, Professor Chris Bulstrode indicated his support for iwantgreatcare.org to the media.

"Professor Chris Bulstrode, of Oxford University, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon and member of the GMC, said: 'This website is a great idea and will put the cat among the pigeons with the medical profession, which is just what's needed. Doctors will feel threatened, and rightly, as one or two will find their trousers round their ankles.'

Presumably therefore Professor Bulstrode is speaking with the approval of the GMC, otherwise he would not have opened his mouth.

The GMC therefore appears to be, at least, complicit.

In this tatty endeavor, Dr Bacon is small fry. It is the GMC creep in this matter that doctors and patients need to address!

Whether supportive or complicit in this matter, The General Medical Council is making monkeys out of patients like me!

"GMC TODAY"

The Oldest Sage Witch, unlike the much younger Witch Doctor, does not keep good health.

Indeed, The Oldest Sage Witch keeps very poor health and is the patient of many doctors.

Many doctors.

If any one of these many doctors at any time gave The Oldest Sage Witch a little card with a web address on it so that she could give feed-back on the service given, The Oldest Sage Witch would tear it up into millions of little pieces in front of the doctor concerned and, using patient choice, find another doctor in that specialty.

Immediately.

You see, The Oldest Sage Witch would not consider such a doctor to have professional standing.

Indeed, The Oldest Sage Witch would consider such a doctor to have some kind of personality deficit.

And the Oldest Sage Witch, most of the time, would turn out to be right!

On these matters, The Oldest Sage Witch, does not agree with the GMC.

The GMC is floundering.

Just read what they produce!

"Why is it that PizzaExpress staff get better feedback on their performance than NHS doctors?

A new service, iWantGreatCare.org, allows you to see in real-time how you are meeting the expectations of your patients. Even better, it gives all of us the easiest and quickest and cheapest (it’s free!) way to meet one of the major new demands of revalidation – regular, large-scale feedback from patients. Simply ask your patients to go to the website to record their feedback.

To make it even easier the service provides every UK doctor with free reminder cards to hand to patients. Revalidation will undoubtedly take a lot of time to adjust to – but getting patient feedback has just become one of the easier parts of the process.

See what your patients think – you may get a pleasant surprise"

Pleasant surprise, my foot!

When exactly did the GMC creep into approving the blatant advertising of individual members of the medical profession?

When exactly did the GMC creep into considering the quality of healthcare given by any doctor is as easy to assess as a book arriving through the post from Amazon or a purchase from e-Bay?

When exactly did the GMC creep into thinking making a pizza was much the same as making a diagnosis?

There are people sitting on the GMC who should be ashamed of themselves!

And how!

Get a grip!

Now!

TRUST ME, I'M A PATIENT

CREEP! CREEP! CREEP!

Pity The Witch Doctor and Her Black Cat have gone to The Parallel Universe for a while because they would be hooting with laughter if they could read this.

This will turn out to be the last nail in the coffin of 360 degree appraisal!

Good!

And it'll turn revalidation into a fiasco too!

What a circus!

Read all of these links.

Each and every one.

Have a good laugh.

Split your sides and roll about the floor!

And then, for the rest of the week contemplate what you are going to do about this sick, bizarre, and voyeuristic society that is England today.

An England where the word "professionalism" cannot be used in its true context, because it is politically incorrect.

"Dr Neil Bacon IWANTGREATCARE.ORG"

IWANTGREATCARE - FARCE IN THE MAKING

BACON AND TRIPE

iwantgreatcare.org

RATE MY BACON

AND NOW, DR CRIPPEN HAS HIS SAY

United Health Europe (a subsidiary of United Health in the USA) will now be commissioning services for the people of Northamptonshire.

However,

A spokesman of great integrity reassures:

"The company is banned from bidding to provide services in Northamptonshire to avoid a conflict of interest, a spokesman for Northamptonshire tPCT said."

Naturally........

What United Health needs is a partner.

Just as HMG feels a need for partners everywhere.

One partner buys, the other partner provides.........
One partner provides, the other partner buys.........
One partner buys, the other partner provides.........
One partner provides, the other partner buys.........
One partner buys, the other partner provides.........
One partner provides, the other partner buys.........
One partner buys, the other partner provides.........
One partner provides, the other partner buys.........

You don't get it, the people of Northamptonshire.....

Do you?

You'd better waken up!

Yes, waken up to the concept of backscratching!

It's a common phenomenon.

And waken up to the fact a multinational company based in the USA will now decide what healthcare you need!

Is that your choice?

Is that "The Choice" of patients in Northamptonshire?

Patient Choice!

"WILL THIS BE A NEW WAY TO COLLECT NECTAR REWARDS?"

a red apple ........................

The Witch Doctor - Link to a random page

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LAURENCE BUCKMAN BEING OMINOUS AND NICOLA STURGEON GOB-SMACKED BY A STANDING OVATION!

Is this a first?

"She looked delighted as doctors got to their feet to applaud her, relishing her new role as saviour of Scottish general practice. If she has aspirations to extend that role to England, she already has the support of one doctor who asked her if she could move the Scottish / English border to Trent so that he could become a Scot."

The Jobbing Doctor seems to be thinking along these lines too!

Maybe the SNP should set the cat among the pigeons by putting up candidates for some English seats in the next election!

Anything goes when the world is tilting!

THE OLDEST SAGE WITCH
(The Witch Doctor's Locum till Halloween)

"PANORAMA WITH SALLY MAGNUSSON"

"What we'd really like to see is radical reforms being pushed to a logical conclusion to make sure we're setting up an NHS market that is embracing and embedding the private sector.

At the minute what is going on is some ad hoc policies being grafted on to the way things are currently working.

What we have been telling the government is to put your foot to the floor and drive this forward. It's what the public wants"

Neil Bently, CBI Director of Public Health Policy

So, stand up all the voters, who elected Mr Bently to run the country?

Stand up all the voters who want the NHS to be run by multi-national giants?

Yes, it is the CBI that is behind the NHS reforms.

The CBI and a malleable, but in a way, a clever government.

As we witches have known for some time.

It is good, though, that at last the flags have unfurled. The patients (not clients) and the medical profession can at last see clearly.

And now they can decide what to do next.

Patient choice......

The FT picks up on todays BMA meeting in Edinburgh.

"NHS URGED TO SHED MARKET SYSTEMS"

Doctors for Reform don't want to shed the NHS market.

But Chris Ham does - he seems to have changed his mind.

"Chris Ham, professor of health services management at Birmingham University and a former head of strategy at the English health department who helped shape England’s policy of competition, has since developed reservations, sharing Scotland’s concern that competition in England could lead to service fragmentation. He has urged adoption of the model employed by Kaiser Permanente, a not-for-profit health group, in the US, which integrates primary and secondary care, appearing to produce better results than the English NHS at similar or lower cost.

The integrated Kaiser Permanente model is also praised in a background paper the BMA prepared for this week’s debates."

Kaiser Permanente.......

Not-for-profit......

Hmmmm..........

Wonder what The Witch Doctor and Her Black Cat are thinking..........

"DR HAMISH MELDRUM'S OPENING SPEECH AT THE BMA'S ANNUAL CONFERENCE."

"Devolution had always been portrayed as the three Celtic nations breaking away from England. He said: "In the case of the NHS it's been the other way round; England has broken away from the rest of the UK" He urged doctors to look at the Scottish model which operates without a competitive market among healthcare providers.

"The BMA wants to see an NHS untarnished by a market economy, true to its beginnings, giving the public a fair, caring, equitable and cost-effective health service. Not a service run like a shoddy supermarket war. If it can be done here in Edinburgh, it can be done in England.

"Let's stop pretending that healing the sick is like trading a commodity. Let's stop diverting doctors' energies into unholy bidding wars for jobs they already do. Let's follow the Celtic lead and get rid of the market in healthcare once and for all. What a pity Ara Darzi missed his golden opportunity to do that."

"NHS RUN LIKE A SUPERMARKET WAR"

Naturally, the CBI have been quick off their mark to protest. They disagree with Hamish Meldrum........

"The CBI immediately attacked the BMA leaders stance.

James Fothergill, CBI head of health policy, said: 'The BMA is misguided in its attack on the strategic use of the private sector to deliver healthcare to the NHS. Evidence shows that in England, where reforms have been more radical, the NHS has delivered significantly better outcomes than in Scotland, where reforms have been held back."

BMA CHAIR MELDRUM CALLS FOR SCRAPPING OF MARKET DRIVEN NHS

Hmm.... is the war going to be between British Industry and the BMA rather than between the government and the BMA?

Things are coming into sharp focus.........

A LONG TRIP TO THE PARALLEL UNIVERSE....

Tomorrow night just before the witching hour My Black Cat and I will be spirited away.....

To The Great Parallel Universe.....

This sometimes happens to witches in the weeks before and after the summer solstice.

We knew it was going to happen when The Oldest Sage Witch (who is a liability on her broomstick) crashed into our abode - literally - she crash landed on our green-house during the witching hour and got all tangled up with the tomato plants and basil we grow around them. The greenhouse is now in smithereens. She walked out of the pile of debris then blamed us for growing tomatoes immediately under her broomstick path.

Now we have no tomatoes!

We need young green tomatoes, basil and green-flies for the spell pantry.

STUPID OLD BAT!

Anyway, the reason for her visit, was to tell us she was fed up reading our blog. She snarled at My Black Cat and me. She thinks we are procrastinators. She said we just rambled on and on and didn't finish anything. We were to have sorted out the plight of demoralised junior doctors, we should have produced a decent map of the Patient Maze Pathway, we were expected to tell the government how to fix the MRSA problem. We haven't told anyone what became of Dr Sixties Sideburns and Dr Flower Power. And she thinks My Black Cat is still keeping far too secretive about the Gordon Brown Advent Spell.

So we are the wasters, the louts, of the witching community!

Apparently!

We were upset!

We went all silent and huffy!

She thinks if we were The Humankind, we would have been kicked down to the bottom rung of The Skills Escalator long ago!

So, we are to be spirited away.....

At the close the day - the day when the medical world will have been celebrating The Darzi Report.......

We have to be spirited away as a gesture of defiance by the witching community!

" .....The NHS, for so long an international model for a universal, public-owned and public-controlled service, is now the world's laboratory for privatisation.....

Professor Allyson Pollock"

She seems to think what is happening now in the NHS will turn out historically to be internationally important.

Then she babbled on about polyclinics. (The Oldest Sage Witch, not Professor Pollock!)

She says they are designed with two main purposes in mind:

1. To ration health-care.
2. To attempt to help the economy by generating profit for large nationals and multi-nationals.

She says the rationed NHS will not end, but it will enter The Parallel Universe.

She says someone must gate-crash the future in The Parallel Universe.

So, we have been given an important Witching Assignment, My Black Cat and I.

We must return to report our findings during The Great Halloween Celebrations of 2008!

She, The Oldest Sage Witch, says she will become the caretaker of our blog till then.

She says she will be firm and stern and will not chatter!

She thinks, we have been neglecting our Witch Doctor's Offering which is supposed to be a library of useful information regarding the NHS during the first decade of the millennium. She says it is very important to keep a record of what is happening in the NHS just now because, in time, historians will look back in wonder at the antics going on in the name of health care. She says there will be comedies and parodies and much laughter among the witching community about how The Humankind allowed politicians to insult, divide, manipulate and control the medical profession who have contributed so much to the health of the nation during the lifetime of the NHS.

No, she will not chatter. Instead she will resolutely get our Witch Doctor's Offering up to date while we are away doing things of a much higher order.

So she says....

Maybe she's not so mad after all, My Black Cat!

Eh?

Go pack your bags and look for the passports, while I sort out The Broomstick's MOT.

a red apple ........................

The Witch Doctor - Link to a random page

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DR DAVID COLIN-THOME HAS A BRAINWAVE!

Hey, My Black Cat, once you've read the King's Fund document on polyclinics, read this too if you can be bothered:

A BRAINWAVE TO SORT OUT GPs

It sound as if it might be a hoot!

A bit like Bingo!

If it is let me know, and I'll read it too.

a red apple ........................

The Witch Doctor - Link to a random page

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WILL POLYCLINICS DELIVER INTEGRATED CARE?

"For some health communities the development of polyclinic-type facilities could offer real opportunities to establish more integrated, patient-focused care, but only if considerable investment of time, effort and resources is put into their planning and development.

The primary focus should be on developing new pathways, technologies and ways of working rather than new buildings. Co-location alone is not sufficient to generate coworking between different teams and professionals. Investment in change management and strong clinical and managerial leadership will be required.

Commissioners will need to consider new ways of commissioning primary and community services. Services will need to be contracted on the basis of clear quality standards in order to ensure that the benefits of the new models of care are realised.

New approaches to assure the quality of out-of-hospital care and support professional development will be needed. There needs to be a much stronger framework for inspection and accreditation.

A major centralisation of primary care is unlikely to be beneficial for patients, particularly in rural areas. A hub-and-spoke model, where the polyclinic acts as a central resource base in a co-ordinated network of practices, is likely to be more appropriate to achieve the desired development of primary care services.

To maximise accessibility, choice of location is critical – polyclinics should ideally be developed in natural transport hubs. Where this is not possible, finding ways to integrate services more effectively within existing facilities or on existing sites would be preferable to developing a polyclinic in a less accessible location. Improved access by car cannot be assumed given restrictions on car parking imposed by local authorities on any new developments.

Substantial cost savings are unlikely to be made. Costs for some services may increase, unless hospitals can significantly reduce their unit costs and commissioners can manage demand. Scheduling of services will need to be carefully planned in order to ensure effective utilisation of building space and staff time. Developing polyclinics is likely to require transitional funding.

There are significant workforce implications that need to be thought through and addressed.

New developments should not simply be a response to a new national target, but a well thought-out element of a broader strategic plan that responds to local needs.

Any polyclinics developed should be subject to rigorous evaluation to help fill the current gaps in the evidence base."

Sounds as if those at King's Fund think the government have been a bit "gung ho" in their approach to polyclinics.

I wonder if they have reflected on why this might be so.

Eh, My Black Cat?

a red apple ........................

The Witch Doctor - Link to a random page

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THE LAW OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND

Remember the olden days, My Black Cat?

Remember the time one of our Less Irksome Friends was asked if he wanted to become a partner in an inner city practice. He had reported to a practice first thing on a Monday morning for a two week spell as a locum so that the regular GP, Dr Wearyandworn, could get a break to visit an ill relative.

Our Less Irksome Friend had never met Dr Wearyandworn. He had not been interviewed for the post although there had been an informal telephone conversation. Nobody had asked for evidence of his medical degree. Nobody had asked for his GMC number. Nobody had asked for evidence of membership of a defence union.

Our Less Irksome Friend had qualified as a doctor one year earlier and had just competed a one year residency in medicine and surgery!

On arrival, he was met by Mrs Helpthedoctorkeepesane - the precursor "practice manager cum nurse." She was a housewife who wanted to earn some pin money. She kept everything in the primitive office running smoothly. She cleaned, she typed, she kept the records tidy. She welcomed patients. She knew every family in the practice. She knew where they all lived and how they all lived. She knew the ones who would "try it on" with a locum to get extra supplies of "Mogadon." She was not a nurse, but sometimes she did some simple dressings and assisted in some minor procedures.

She took great pride in her job.

The idea of a Skills Escalator would have made her chuckle!

A POWERFUL EGG

She would accompany the locum doctor on the house-calls. She would keep him on the right track.

But first she had to try to secure a partner for Dr WearyandWorn before he dropped dead from exhaustion. She had been given that responsibility.

At the end of Day 1 of the locum job, she knew that she had found a suitable partner.

She asked My Less Irksome Friend if he would consider joining the practice permanently.

A fairy tale?

No. True.

It is what happens when there is a shortage of GP's willing to work in a UK inner city.

When demand is excessive and supply limited.

When there's only one egg left in the box, and everybody wants an omelette, anything goes.

The warning signs are there.

It's a pity no-one in the Department of Health is old enough to remember Dr Wearyandworn and his inner city practice, My Black Cat.

a red apple ........................

The Witch Doctor - Link to a random page

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DOCTOR'S LEADER CALLS FOR END TO POLITICAL "MEDDLING"

"Let the professions lead, hand in hand with the public, and you will see the progress our patients want."

Proposed changes to the NHS, including the creation of polyclinics and greater involvement of the private sector, will also come under Dr Fielden's firing line.

Dr Fielden will urge the government to "dump the polyclinic" and "stop wasting money on poor procurement in the private sector and invest more intelligently in the NHS".

PATIENT BACKLASH OVER POLYCLINICS SHOCKS GP TRAILBLAZER

VILLAGE'S GP SURGERY IS SAFE, NHS SAYS

BROWN CONFIDENT PEOPLE WOULD BACK HIM ON POLYCLINICS

"NO EVIDENCE" TO SUPPORT POLYCLINICS

PATIENTS' FEARS IGNORED AS POLYCLINICS INCREASE

a red apple ........................

The Witch Doctor - Link to a random page

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LINK TO UK MISSING KIDS WEBSITE

LINK TO MISSING PERSONS WEBSITE

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