Monday 21 July 2008

I know my place

This story about surgeons making extra money from successful surgery caught my eye. It's nice to know what the government thinks of us. If the surgeon has a good surgery he gets extra cash, but what about everyone else? Despite what they believe surgeons do not operate in a vacuum. There are a whole host of staff around to make sure that surgery is successful - his medical team, the anaesthetist, the nursing team in the theatre, the nursing team in recovery, the ward nursing staff, the domestics who clean the place, the porters who transport patients, the physios, the laboratory staff, and the sterile supplies people to name but a few. Every one of them vital to a successful operation. So why should only the surgeon be rewarded? In fairness, in all the reports I have seen, there is not one report of a medic who has said this is good and they have actively spoken out against it. So where does the Department of Health get the notion that this is a good idea? This goes along with the idea of rating nurses for compassion. More government interference.
How about developing a scheme that will allow medical and nursing staff to do their jobs with enough staff and resources?

6 comments:

Jobbing Doctor said...

I completely agree with your post Grumpy. Indeed I have commented on this stupid idea in my blog (which I know you read and don't always agree with).

Who are these idiots and their stupid ideas?

Anonymous said...

A sad commentary for sure. I would argue that most leaders in healthcare realize that healthcare is a team effort, but the fact remains that MD providers play a pivotal role within the confines of the healthcare team. As you know, MDs are directly linked to dollars.

However most of the care that is delivered in any healthcare institution is delivered by nursing and allied healthcare personnel. MDs provide little in the way of hands on patient care. The problem is purely one of economics.

If nursing had prescriptive authority, and could bill for services, and make independent decisions the tables would be a bit more equal.

Hospitals and healthcare leaders have always and will always focus on physicians because again there is so much money attached to this group.

For years nursing has taken a back seat in healthcare, much of it has been intentional. Suzane Gordon has written a few books detailing the inequities and discriminatory acts that nursing has endured at the hands of healthcare administrators, MDs, and the AMA over the years. Nursing Against The Odds is a good book to get your diastolic way up.

For years now I have been trying to find a way for nursing to bill hospitals and patients directly for services just like other healthcare disciplines. If that could be realized I think the tides might shift a bit.

I too know my place but I don't let anyone walk on me. I am healthcare professional not a maid.

Anonymous said...

I heard this idea and had the impression it wasn't fair but couldn't put my finger on why........ I think you just made it clear for me!

GAB said...

Yes it is so true that the nurses and others need to be reconnised for their job well done. My last surgery the poor bloke who was my night nurse I screamed some bad words and called him some very bad names. Do I remember it? NO! I was still under (so to speak)My daughter and grandkids told me about it. O and why did my grandkids hear such filth coming outta their beloved grandma's mouth? Because daughter was right there on hand when they brought me to my room. It also scared the grandkids so badly they were crying because they thought grandma was dyeing. I do remember at one point opening my eyes and seeing my oldest grandson (who was 9 at the time)crying his eyes out and I remember saying dont cry baby grandmas ok before I drifted off to happy land again. Was a tramic experance for them. I later learned that the 2 year old and 6 year old grandsons were there to but so scared that they hid!

Vanda said...

Yet another stupid idea from the NHS.

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