OK. Just as a matter of interest, does the hospital actually employ consultants to do this?
Most hospitals are happy paying for 'on call availability' which means a consultant is available to come in to work if there is an exceptional emergency. If you want routine availability on the ward, in A&E etc then you need the staff.
It's the difference between paying a plumber full fee for standing next to your boiler all day in case there's a problem vs paying him when needed (or not in the case of on call availability). Look upon it as a type of zero hours contract.
When most 50 year old consultants were training, they worked 120 hour weeks commonly, and there were outcries about tired doctors making mistakes. The EWTD has limited this to 48 hours (though most consultants voluntarily 'opt out')
Who therefore is there on NICU at weekends? There are not enough NICU consultants to go around. This has been known for years, and the obvious solution is to have full shift consultant care in larger centres.
This has happened since the Darzi review of trauma services centred trauma care in London to The Royal London, Kings, Georges and Mary's. All these centres have 24/7/365 consultants in A&E, ITU, theatres etc.
So what does Joe Public do? whines that they want to close the poor quality, understaffed and underexperienced local A&E departments.
Unfortunately the same holds true for NICU. If you want high quality care, there are minimum volumes compatible with being able to staff with consultants and this means supra-regional centres I'm afraid. It may mean you have to travel to GOSH, but at least you'd have the care when there.
It may also be in your specific case that the consultant was operating (NICU consultants are usually paediatric anaesthetists and as such may have been providing a GA for little George's broken wrist.
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da5id <YOUR SIG HERE>, Thu 23 Jul 2015, 10:05,
Reply)
How they employ them is not something they deemed to share with me.
All I know is what I saw and was told I didn't get to inspect the wording of their contracts.
Monday to Friday, adequate cover by consultants.
Weekends inadequate cover.
Source nursing staff on a neo natal ward.
If there is deemed a need for a certain amount of staff monday to friday, why is there less staff on a weekend?
The nurses seem pretty fucked off that they were expected to take up the slack when there was reduced cover.
So, there is already a 7 day a week NHS for Nursing staff.
But not for Doctors, G.Ps etc. Reduced cover is not the same.
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Cerebus Sticky! Sticky! Stick! Stick!, Thu 23 Jul 2015, 10:59,
Reply)
OK, we agree. There is inadequate cover at weekends by consultants.
What i object to is the implication that it is consultants who are employed to work then not turning up. It is in fact that the trusts do not employ enough to be able to staff the place at weekends and the weekdays.
If they shifted people around, you'd just end up with a bit less cover spread out through the week, and the same mortality/ morbidity.
All I'm saying is that it is the employing trusts that decide to have fewer staff on at weekends to save money, not the consultants themselves skiving off.
Anyway, back to clinic!
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da5id <YOUR SIG HERE>, Thu 23 Jul 2015, 11:35,
Reply)