Monday, February 11, 2008

Roger Gale Backs Doctors against Patients?



Is it me, or have the Tories become less than concerned, over the plight of that rare breed, that is, the British taxpayer. I only ask as a reaction to one of Roger Gale's many " Press releases", which from time to time, allow publishers, to fill up another centimetre or two in their newspapers, his latest being rather disappointing, which I would catagorize as a " Doctor knows best" sort of opinion.


The subject of the press release was Roger Gales support for General Practitioners, he acknowledges Labour incompetence(more than deserved) in awarding doctors a rise in pay for doing less but then goes on to suggest that individual practices are best placed to determine opening hours.


Roger Gale along with his Tory pals seems always to side with what one might refer to as establishment figures. Surely its time that Tories went back to their roots as far as looking after the taxpayer, since taxpayers are more likely to vote than those who sit in front of the telly all day or waddle around town, wondering when the next benefits cheque will arrive.


Is it possible that Roger Gale in common with many people in this country sees the NHS as some sort of mysticle beneficent organisation which should not be interfered with. To me the NHS is another service which I pay for in tax contributions, and since the customer, you and I, are paying for it, we ought to be able to see a doctor at our convenience, particularly as I understand that many doctors now trouser the best part of £150,000 a year before "private work". I work weekends and evenings for considerably less, why can't GPs.


And whilst I'm on the subject its voters, that pay bills and elect MPs.




3 comments:

  1. We have our benefits paid directly into our accounts. Hence we avoid waiting for the cheque to arrive.

    Even if the benefit is not credited to the account on time, this is not a crisis for us.

    Benefits are there to supplement our black economy wages.

    When we first came to Thanet we worked in our profession. We met Thanet people daily and soon learned. People say that prison is a university of crime. Well Thanet turns out to be a university of welfare sponging techniques.

    We thought why not be like them and better off on the chat. So we gave our practice up and signed on. Lots of our patients were pretty miffed about this naturally.

    It has taken our parents a long while to reconcile to this. All that sacrifice to get us through uni and teaching hospital to become GPs. But now they are signing on and have given up their practices too. They are running into loads of their former colleagues down the chat.

    They exchange black economy part time private practice tricks. Never been happier.

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  2. Well there was me too. In the practice one day endlessly signing sick notes. I thought I will write one for myself. So I signed myself off and went home.

    The receptionist was furious with me and would only be placated when I signed her off as well. All those angry people stuck in the waiting room. Well that would stress the receptionist out. So I signed her off with Thanet pendulum plombitas by proxy disease.

    All was well for six months and I had a good little black economy number running to top up my incapacity when hey ho, I am called for the All Work Test at Canterbury.

    I have taken the precaution of signing myself off with bad back and stress so I only need seven points to get incapacity for life (A real illness is far more problematic for getting benefits)

    Well the ministry doctor tries all sorts of questions to catch me out.

    "Do you do your own washing ?"

    "Do you do your own shopping?"

    "Can you lift a bag of sugar ?"

    So I played on the stress angle making out I could not understand the questions.

    Some of my former patient Thanet sick scroungers had put me wise what to do so I knew to ask for a glass of water during the all work test and feign not being able to fetch it for myself.

    Next thing the all work test doc is back carrying me a glass of water and I am thinking he is showing the signs of left ventricular mayhem that lad.

    Next thing he is on the floor turning a convincing shade of blue.

    I am not falling for that I thought. If I treat him then next thing he signs me fit for work and I am back hours on end doing house calls and surgeries. I reckon this must be a cunning trick to get me to reveal my fitness for work.

    Anyway he was not acting and he carked it on the floor.

    So I signed meself off forging his signature on the report as incapacity awarded for life with no need for further appraisal. Walks out of his office bidding him loudly a fond farewell and scarpered. It was ages before they found his body. The receptionist sent in the next Thanet incapacity benefit scrounger who of course forged the doc's signature. Sat around for a while then walked out shouting a cheery farewell. And so it went on. In fact the cleaner found him that night. But said nothing because she is working on the chat and did not want her name coming to the notice of the Coroner and hence the press and the benefits dept. So she took his body and left it in a bin bag by the part time police shop where it was discovered by the duty officer the following Tuesday but only because the seagulls had pecked it open. Well that and the council only collecting refuse once a fortnight or he would be up the landfill now.

    I too get the benefits paid into the account.

    Nice out here in Spain though ....

    I hear they got a very nice Polish doctor in my place. He is staying with the practice because he has a good tax credit fiddle going. You can't blame him.

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  3. Glad to here how to work the system.

    I'm not anti doctor but anti Saints, doctor get paid well, patients get treated like cattle.

    Health care in this country is take it or leave it unless your someone like an MP who can well afford to opt out.

    Instead of cosy little arrangements whereby patients get allocated some doc, it ought to be the other way round, and good doctors with polite receptionist prosper and the rest make do.

    I pay enought I want to choose

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