Solving the Doctors on Strike Crisis?

As many of you know, many Junior Doctors are going on strike to improve the circumstances with their tough job. I think a lot of students feel down because of how competitive it is to be a doctor in the UK - or more precisely getting into medical schools. One of the reasons I actually strayed away from being a doctor is because of knowing how stressful it can be. So here are some facts:

- There is a high chance the strike will leave some patients at risk and increase working hours for others not on strike
- Many Doctors believe that their hours and hard work are not adequately paid for
- That much hard work leads to a lot of stress- Money isn't as big as a motivator as some may think - I learnt that in Business class
- There is a big demand for doctors
- There is a lot of people who want to become doctors
- France has a very successful Healthcare system
- The NHS is threatened of becoming privatised

Okay, with that in mind, let me make a suggesting about how to solve the crisis. It's actually extremely simple so without further ado...

Hire more doctors. Open more medical schools. Open up more opportunities for work experience and related opportunities. Improve the system's actual workings - take France's example. With that all said, a bit of monetary investment is going to be needed. No big deal - it's just money. In the long-term everyone will be happier.

What could this solve you ask? Here's a list:
- Shared workload = Less hours = Less stress = Less strikes.
- Doctors can still be adequately paid for
- More flexible for patients
- Minimal waiting for an appointment
- More access for younger people to become doctors like they wanted to be
- Less chance of NHS becoming privatised or gone

This all seems very efficient to me and I want to see a smile on some of those poor doctors' faces - and the patients of course. So then… Would this work or not work, and in any case, why do you think so? :angelwings:

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 1

username944192

Original post by Kiritsugu

No big deal - it's just money.

None of your ideas are new. It's common knowledge that the NHS needs more funds to run adequately. The issue is that the government refuses to give more funding, and it doesn't look like it's going to happen anytime soon either

Reply 2

BasicMistake

You don't think that dozens of committees and thousands of meetings have reached the same conclusions as you? The coalition government tried to 'improve the system's workings' and made things worse. The NHS will become a black hole of government expenditure in the future, especially with an ageing population. Either divert funding from other sectors of public spending or accept that the NHS has to be privatised in some way.

And all of this does nothing to resolve the current junior doctors crisis. Increasing the size of the labour pool is long term policy and is unlikely to be happen for several years.

Reply 3

Etomidate

Original post by Kiritsugu

Okay, with that in mind, let me make a suggesting about how to solve the crisis. It's actually extremely simple so without further ado...

Hire more doctors.

This is a solution, but it's easier said than done.

Firstly, there are no doctors. The government has promised 10,000 extra doctors, but they simply don't exist. There is an international shortage of doctors. We have a national shortage despite us braindraining India and Asia for decades.

Training more seems sensible, but it costs about £300,000 to get one doctor through medical school. It also takes a long time to create doctors at a middle and senior level.

Unfortunately, the government has neither the time nor the money to do this.

In addition, the government is seeking to extent elective services by an additional 2 days, despite grave warnings from the BMA that there aren't enough doctors to run a safe 5 day service, let alone 7!

Reply 4

Kiritsugu

Original post by Etomidate

This is a solution, but it's easier said than done.

Firstly, there are no doctors. The government has promised 10,000 extra doctors, but they simply don't exist. There is an international shortage of doctors. We have a national shortage despite us brain draining India and Asia for decades.

Training more seems sensible, but it costs about £300,000 to get one doctor through medical school. It also takes a long time to create doctors at a middle and senior level.

Unfortunately, the government has neither the time nor the money to do this.

In addition, the government is seeking to extent elective services by an additional 2 days, despite grave warnings from the BMA that there aren't enough doctors to run a safe 5 day service, let alone 7!

Wow, a lot of educational replies, thanks everyone! :smile:

This is way more difficult than at first glance and it appears I was confused about some things like the cause of competition, the actual liquidity and availability of money, and of course - History; People have tried this before and failed.

Here's another solution. People should stop getting hurt. (That was a joke).

It seems like the true problem doesn't stem from some human problem, but rather a systematic and logistical flaw in the system - a system that has gotten out of control, exploited and breaking apart - something that is not a system anymore. Mere fragments of rules barely wound together. No wonder people are calling for a revolution - and yet I'm wrong...at the core of it, it is a human problem.

We cannot improve the economy when there are more urgent things to deal with, and that is just what is happening. That's why when communication fails, when people can't make decisions, when people start disagreeing and insulting one another that more problems are created.

But just who - or what - do we shove such problems upon?