tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646672781891265261.post4084795001313406163..comments2023-10-07T12:47:43.024+00:00Comments on I'm a Medical Student, Get Me Out of Here: "There is a 3:38 in Bay 5"The Little Medichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05743228690074334742noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646672781891265261.post-3908375527711970942008-03-18T19:44:00.000+00:002008-03-18T19:44:00.000+00:00Humanities students are usually responsible for mo...Humanities students are usually responsible for most things but no self-respecting Oxford PPE-ist is going to leave his law firm / investment bank to lurk around a hospital. Maybe that's the problem.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646672781891265261.post-24822531466971311252008-03-16T15:16:00.000+00:002008-03-16T15:16:00.000+00:00I know, I have heard many Emergency Med consultant...I know, I have heard many Emergency Med consultants complain about this. The worst thing is, is that all it does is lowers staff morale and encourages staff to find shortcuts and 'cheats' out of this stupid target, which may or may not be in the best interests of the patient.<BR/><BR/>Sad, really.Calaverahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02827844632460123157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646672781891265261.post-43884387863232048842008-03-14T07:37:00.000+00:002008-03-14T07:37:00.000+00:00Apologies, apologiesI put "her" ....... I meant "h...Apologies, apologies<BR/><BR/>I put "her" ....<BR/><BR/>... I meant "him"<BR/><BR/>Have corrected.<BR/><BR/><BR/>JohnAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646672781891265261.post-69928325361701786002008-03-13T23:08:00.000+00:002008-03-13T23:08:00.000+00:00You're obviously having the same kind of week I am...You're obviously having the same kind of week I am!Mousiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16465249551690887635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646672781891265261.post-86049088209891684012008-03-13T21:16:00.000+00:002008-03-13T21:16:00.000+00:00Crikey, fame at last LM - links on Dr Crippen AND ...Crikey, fame at last LM - links on Dr Crippen AND Dr Rant, that's big league stuff.<BR/><BR/>Of course, the other thing that has ensued, apart from "4 hr wait managers" is expansion of MAUs (Medical Assessment Units) like the one where Mrs PhD Sci used to work. Patients could be shunted to MAU if they were still waiting on medical work-up but were in danger of breaching the 4 hrs. That's not the MAU's only role, of course, and a lot of people agreed it was better complicated or "more extended obs needed" patients be sent there than (inappropriately) admitted to specific medical or surgical wards. .. However, Mrs PhD Sci's MAU did used to have repeated fights NOT to get clearly inappropriate "turfs" from A&E. These were typically patients who were highly likely to end up being sent home from A&E but whose assessment was going to end up taking marginally more than 4 hrs.<BR/><BR/>It is difficult, though - the problems the A&E CN points out over at Dr Rant are real enough, and one used to hear enough stories from three-drinks-aboard Drs. So the target and money-or-no-money as per target system addresses one problem, but causes a whole load of others. Modern command bureaucracy in a nutshell.<BR/><BR/>The solution in Europe (at least in France and Germany) is to have more GPs AND community based specialists to "deflect" demand from A&E and hospitals; then people who do go to hospital get seen quicker as there are less of them (patients). But they do spend a lot more in those countries than we do.<BR/><BR/>Of course, the nonsensical "gaming" in the present UK system is an endless topic of conversation at the medical dinner parties I sometimes attend w Mrs PhD Sci. One classic gag was about the week a yr or two back when the A&E Dept waits got audited country-wide. As I recall, a later survey found that something like 97% of all hospitals with A&E Departments had put on lots of extra doctors (presumably on time and a half) and extra other staff (ditto) for the assessment week (the dates were known well in advance).<BR/><BR/>When this "97% of hospitals gamed the target" figure came out the standard dinner party gag was (dead pan) "<I>Only</I> 97%...?"PhD scientisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00653179299453839890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646672781891265261.post-65868286271482078262008-03-13T20:49:00.000+00:002008-03-13T20:49:00.000+00:00top notch ranting, keep it up!top notch ranting, keep it up!Garth Marenghihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07373175498875348430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646672781891265261.post-86979979712257000932008-03-13T17:13:00.000+00:002008-03-13T17:13:00.000+00:00Oh sweetheart, you really need to let me wave my p...Oh sweetheart, you really need to let me wave my punctuation wand before you post :p<BR/><BR/>Targets, headlines and soundbites. There is no concern for a job well done any more.missblisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07426788119438585185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2646672781891265261.post-4351508973426386182008-03-13T15:00:00.000+00:002008-03-13T15:00:00.000+00:00Why does it have to be a politics student from Oxf...Why does it have to be a politics student from <B>Oxford</B>, bit of regional prejudice getting through there you northern oik? ;DAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com