Staff who fall ill should be able to stay off work for up to two weeks before they need a sick note in order to relieve the strain on overstretched GPs, leading doctors believe.
Leading doctors push changes to sick note system
Tags: Doctors
Hospital wards ‘dangerously understaffed’, according to nurses survey
More than half of nurses think their ward or unit is dangerously understaffed, a Nursing Times survey revealed today. Nearly six out of 10 (57%) described their ward as sometimes or always “dangerously understaffed”, the research showed. Over three quarters (76%) said they had witnessed “poor” care in their ward or unit over the past…
Increasing doctors’ pay rates now could harm patient care and put jobs at risk, say NHS Employers
The NHS Employers organisation believes the Doctors and Dentists Review Body should not recommend an increase in pay scales for NHS doctors over the next financial year. This will help organisations maintain the quality of NHS patient care, tackle an unprecedented savings challenge and minimise job losses. In its annual submission to the Doctors and…
‘Doctors need social media guidance’
The General Medical Council should produce a new section on social media in its official ethical guidance to doctors the Medical Protection Society has urged. According to E-Health Insider, the warning follows the recent GMC open consultation on guidance for Good Medical Practise. In response, the Medical Protection Society said social media websites like Facebook…
What do doctors’ pension changes mean?
With a strike by doctors just a week away, the Department of Health (DH) has put out a statement that claims to explain exactly what the proposed NHS pension deal would mean for doctors. The statement follows countless comments from unions and others who oppose the pension changes and insist that the government is carrying…
Abuse warning over overworked doctors
Paediatricians are being so overstretched that they are leaving children at risk of abuse, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) has claimed. The body reckoned that in some cases one paediatrician can be responsible for over 200,000 children. And it warned that child protection should not become an afterthought as the health…
BMA: seven-day hospitals ”unaffordable”
Getting consultants to work seven days a week would be unaffordable, Dr Mark Porter, chairman of the British Medical Association’s consultants’ committee has said. This is despite Porter saying exactly a week ago that if doctors did seven-day weekly rotations the number of patient deaths could be reduced. He was reported on Publicservice.co.uk as raising…
Medical sector increases use of freelancers
Fundamental changes apparent in health sector’s use of contractors. 90% increase in recently qualified doctors going freelance. ‘Mid-career’ medical staff keeping hold of permanent positions. The number of doctors and nurses at either end of the age spectrum undertaking contract work has increased significantly since 2009, reflecting broader changes in employment prospects within the health…