By: Barrie Quappé RN, BSN – Consultant/Director:
I have watched with interest the strike of junior doctors in the UK over pay cuts and long hours. Five answers to what this is all about is a quick way to get the basics on this and can be found here:
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-35760381
To see the passion but control in these strikes, once again the BBC has captured this well:
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-35646123
Having just studied the Midstaffordshire case out of the UK, a facility that was a part of the National Health Service (‘NHS’), I pondered whether this could happen here in Cayman as our governing structure is modeled after the UK’s. In the case of Midstaffordshire, the blinders were on by management to gain Trust status which led to financial cuts, declining patient care and increased death rates. You can get the gist of this by looking at this timeline:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-20965469
What is encouraging is that the junior doctors are fighting to be heard and not easily quelled by hierarchical authority. What we must be mindful of is the risk to the patient’s. How do doctor’s (or any other caregiver in the medical world go on strike without impacting patient care?
Food for thought.