Should doctors work at the weekend?

[illuminati9]

why dont we have school in the evening, weekend and over holidays. this way we dont have to have classes of 30+, the naturally thick and stupod can be group together to go at evening and weekends. this way we have less traffic problem. smaller classes so the teacher can do their job properly instead of letting kids leave school as dumb as they are now

[Jeffrey Shaw]

Er, that's off-topic.

And anyway education (or lack of) is rarely a life-threatening emergency.

[JFKvsNixon]

You know full well that a registrar isn't qualified as a real doctor because despite the mysterious fancy title they are just a student doctor under full supervision of their trainer.

 

Until that reg' is qualified with a bit of wool on their back we can take anything that they say with a pinch of salt. In the meantime I'll choose a proper doctor who's fully qualified.

 

 

 

 

Mind you, you're bang on about GP appointment times being the core issue.

 

The 40% is a straw man though. Increasing the utility of property and equipment over 7 days instead of 5 is as much of a gain as spreading the existing amount of staff over the 7 days too.

 

It's ridiculous to keep spending money on more facilities when the existing ones are chronically underused. 40% underused as it happens.

 

Work the current staff over 7 days and you have an instant increase in the return on the investment, not a 40% increase in cost.

 

So you believe that we should reduce services across the board to be able to offer the 7 day service, by maybe having less doctors on covering nights for example?

[Eric Arthur]

I didn't say anything about reducing services across the board or anywhere else.

 

You could have fewer doctors on days and more doctors on nights and weekends though.

[JFKvsNixon]

I didn't say anything about reducing services across the board or anywhere else.

 

You could have fewer doctors on days and more doctors on nights and weekends though.

 

Fewer doctors on days = a reduction of services.

 

Having more doctors on during nights and weekends is not what is being proposed though, what's being proposed is a 7 day working week. Currently the main barrier that stops hospitals from having more people on duty during the nights and weekends is the cost.

[Eric Arthur]

Fewer doctors on days = a reduction of services.

 

Having more doctors on during nights and weekends is not what is being proposed though, what's being proposed is a 7 day working week. Currently the main barrier that stops hospitals from having more people on duty during the nights and weekends is the cost.

 

No it isn't. You'll need to come equipped with a better argument than that with me sunshine.

[Agent Orange]

Depends how we define doctors. I believe quite a lot of doctors within the hospital system already work weekends. However, I don't know of any GP's that work routinely work over the weekend. Now, back to the question, I believe GP's should work weekends, or at least Saturdays to provide a better and more flexible service for their patients.

[Cyclone]

That registrar will be fine once they have qualified as a real doctor and settled into their 9-4 Monday to Friday routine. In the meantime we'll just have to put up with them moaning about how awful it is that they have to work like normal people to get paid £40k while still being a student.

 

 

Have you any idea what level a registrar is or how long it's been since they qualified as a Dr?

 

---------- Post added 21-07-2015 at 19:08 ----------

 

Just a thought. I've experienced family members being extremely ill and rushed to A & E on a Sunday morning.

EVERY time the A & E waiting department has been full to capacity.

The guidelines for needing A & E are

[*]persistent severe chest pains

[*]breathing difficulties

[*]severe bleeding that cannot be stopped

[*]loss of consciousness

[*]acute confused state & fits that are not stopping

 

Now I am a firm believer in not judging a book by its cover and I have no medical knowledge BUT many of these people waiting can be seen happily chatting, reading, eating their bag of crisps and having a drink. Children are often running around happily. It would appear that many of these people could have waited to see their GP.

So, why are these people here?

 

A recent NHS survey suggests that 40% who attend A & E are discharged without requiring treatment.

Are we overloading A & E with minor complaints just because its there and readily available when our GP is not? Is it because of difficulty getting appointments with our GP?

 

If these people did only need to see their GP, then perhaps that is the first port of call for remedy - i.e. more available hours for appointments.

This would then free up many wasted hours for staff in A & E who could then give that time to the really ill.

 

That list wouldn't even include a broken limb...

 

---------- Post added 21-07-2015 at 19:14 ----------

 

You know full well that a registrar isn't qualified as a real doctor because despite the mysterious fancy title they are just a student doctor under full supervision of their trainer.

 

Until that reg' is qualified with a bit of wool on their back we can take anything that they say with a pinch of salt. In the meantime I'll choose a proper doctor who's fully qualified.

You won't choose anything. If you continue the way we are the NHS won't exist and you'll pay for what you can afford, which will probably be a 1st year student.

 

Just so your misinformation doesn't actually convince anyone else.

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/mar/04/hospital-registrars-workload

 

 

 

 

Mind you, you're bang on about GP appointment times being the core issue.

The government have been making life for GPs more and more difficult. At the rate its going there won't be anyone entering the profession as a GP in 20 years time.

 

The 40% is a straw man though. Increasing the utility of property and equipment over 7 days instead of 5 is as much of a gain as spreading the existing amount of staff over the 7 days too.

 

 

It's ridiculous to keep spending money on more facilities when the existing ones are chronically underused. 40% underused as it happens.

The equipment and space is not the problem. It's used to the full capacity of the staff able to use it.

Making them work more unsociable hours won't increase the level of use, it will just be used less during the week.

 

Work the current staff over 7 days and you have an instant increase in the return on the investment, not a 40% increase in cost.

 

You have no net gain at all, and you have a lot of unhappy medical staff and unsociable hours payments to make.

 

---------- Post added 21-07-2015 at 19:16 ----------

 

OK; doctors needn't work at the weekend- BUT only if nobody falls ill or needs their involvement at the weekend. And people do need them at all sorts of inconvenient times. Unless the patient happens to be on the same golf course as the doctors, the latter- or at least some of them- therefore need to be available around A&E etc. so as to treat the former

 

I know you're a smart person Jeffrey. Think about it for a few minutes.

Have you completely swallowed the government spin? Do you believe that hospitals are deserted at weekends and that you have to wait until Monday morning before anyone will see you in an emergency?

Or perhaps you think that they should see non-emergencies. Perhaps you should also work 24/7 in case there's a non emergency conveyancing issue that someone needs advice on, at 10pm on a Saturday?

 

---------- Post added 21-07-2015 at 19:17 ----------

 

Er, that's off-topic.

And anyway education (or lack of) is rarely a life-threatening emergency.

 

Really.... You really think that emergencies go untreated at weekends?

 

---------- Post added 21-07-2015 at 19:17 ----------

 

I didn't say anything about reducing services across the board or anywhere else.

 

You could have fewer doctors on days and more doctors on nights and weekends though.

 

Great. So less work would be done during the day. What a great gain that would be for everyone. Not.

[Daven]

You know full well that a registrar isn't qualified as a real doctor because despite the mysterious fancy title they are just a student doctor under full supervision of their trainer.

 

Until that reg' is qualified with a bit of wool on their back we can take anything that they say with a pinch of salt. In the meantime I'll choose a proper doctor who's fully qualified.

 

 

 

 

Mind you, you're bang on about GP appointment times being the core issue.

 

The 40% is a straw man though. Increasing the utility of property and equipment over 7 days instead of 5 is as much of a gain as spreading the existing amount of staff over the 7 days too.

 

It's ridiculous to keep spending money on more facilities when the existing ones are chronically underused. 40% underused as it happens.

 

Work the current staff over 7 days and you have an instant increase in the return on the investment, not a 40% increase in cost.

 

This remarkable statement has confirmed to us all that you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about !

Registrars are very highly experienced and qualified doctors with AT LEAST 5 years post grad experience in many different areas of medicine. They are more highly qualified and experienced than the average GP.

 

---------- Post added 21-07-2015 at 21:24 ----------

 

I didn't say anything about reducing services across the board or anywhere else.

 

You could have fewer doctors on days and more doctors on nights and weekends though.

 

This is a remarkable and uninformed statement.

There are too few doctors as it is.

How, by taking doctors off days and putting them on nights and weekends, will this improve the service ? What happens during the day ?

The service will be reduced. It really is quite easy to understand if you try hard.

Just for your information - tha average hospital doctor works on average a 60 hour week. Do you really think it would be good for them to work even more ?

 

---------- Post added 21-07-2015 at 21:34 ----------

 

Depends how we define doctors. I believe quite a lot of doctors within the hospital system already work weekends. However, I don't know of any GP's that work routinely work over the weekend. Now, back to the question, I believe GP's should work weekends, or at least Saturdays to provide a better and more flexible service for their patients.

 

Exactly.

If GP's were more available to their patients and advertised the fact they were then less people would tip up at A&E at weekends with minor ailments and injuries and take the strain off the overstretched department.

Edited July 21, 2015 by Daven

[Celia Paul]

Should YOU have to work 7 days a week?

If not, then why should Drs feel any different about it?.

Nobody is asking them to work 7 days a week.