Retd. GP & medical politics. Angry at state of NHS. Love books food drink laughing Archers walking photography and travel espec. India also
@thedoctorangry
.bsk
On
@BBCNews
I have just seen lay people being trained to give Covid vaccine injections whereas I, a doctor for over 50 years, am not allowed to do the same without producing 21 certificates
Feeling thoroughly depressed at the state of our country. There seems to be more nastiness around than at any time previously in my nearly 80 years. I cannot understand how anyone can support the likes of Braverman, Fox, Johnson et al and yet there are 1000s who do.
I am desperately anxious and will remain so until Friday. I have lived all my 80 years in Tory held constituencies and now there is a glimmer of hope that on Thursday that may change in what could well be my last General Election.
@erbrooker
Years ago inadvertently I exceeded the speed limit; as a police motorcyclist waved me down I muttered "Shit" When I wound the window down to speak to the occifer he was confronted by my then 2 yr old shouting Shit shit from his baby seat
I have decided to take a break from Twitter in the interests of my sanity. I have been struggling against feelings of depression for some time and this has got worse since December 12th. I know that many of my caring followers will understand. I am sad for someone who doesn't.
18 yrs ago today a bomb blew up
a bus outside the BMA. Friends, mainly GPs who were in the building set up a casualty station in the courtyard working with no equipment. I know they were all deeply traumatised & never received recognition for their efforts. Thinking of them โค๏ธ
@DoctorMayJay
I've known someone in their 80s going into a care home home & upset at being given margarine on his bread "because "butter is bad for him". I've always said the point of dietary advice is to help you live longer not to make life seem longer"
Last week I got two new pairs of glasses from my optometrist Identical prescription & frames except one pair to have clear lenses and the other to have transitions. Here I am wearing them this morning.!
Is it just my imagination or has the wholesale and wanton pollution of our rivers and beaches with sewage by Water companies increased exponentially in the last 3 years or so. What could the explanation be?
Dear
@MattHancock
I retired 12 years ago but prior to that for a number of years as Senior Partner in a General Practice I "allowed" our Practice Nurses to give flu jabs. I didn't realise I was breaking a law. Please advise me whether and where I should turn myself in.
@SyncopeJohn
Today I also read about duty doctors over the holidays not being able to get any hot food or in some cases no food at all.. There is a complete lack of understanding amongst many managers of how to support and encourage clinical staff.
61yrs ago I started at St Mary's Hospital Medical School. 55 years ago around 80 of us qualified and went our various ways .Today a smallish group of survivors met in London at the RSM for a superb lunch and a pleasant afternoon reminiscing.
These are the sort of people Priti Patel and her kind would exclude from this country because " we don't need shelf stackers" How fortunate we are that they came here when they did.
10/07/00
My twin bro & I left our parents behind in Lebanon
We were 17 when we arrived in England
Mo stacked shelves in Tesco, I stacked shelves in M&S
Life was tough but the hard work paid off
Today
@HankirMohammed
is a leading neuroscientist
I'm an academic psychiatrist
I qualified over 50 years ago and, having muddled through the next 40 yrs, retired 13 years ago yet I still regularly have the dream where I am about to take finals and know nothing at all with failure leaving me destitute.
โIf Iโve got flu and just need seven days off work and then Iโm back, do I really need to see a doctor for that?โ said a government source.
They haven't a clue have they. Self certification for 7 days has existed since befre i retired 16 yrs ago
@PennyMordaunt
During my 36 years in general practice ending 2008 I was only aware of a few single handed practices closing or merging. The idea of a large practice handing back its contract was unknown. This is the result of 12 yrs of Tory neglect of the whole NHS .
@Paul25318818
I have lived here for all of my 76 years. I can't go anywhere for family reasons but also until recently I was proud of my country. I've lived through good and bad government I am damned if I'll let this nasty lot push me out. Just hope I'll live long enough to help vote them out
I just rejoined the Liberal Democrats I was a founder member helping to set up local Party I resigned over support for damaging NHS Reforms whilst in coaliton but to save the NHS we must defeat Brexit - join me here: via
@LibDems
@BMA_Consultants
@BBCr4today
@SteveBarclay
IF I remember correctly the NHS Pension lump sum is tax free in common with many other pension schemes but the annual pension is taxed at normal rates and through coding the state pension is also taxed
@StevBarclay
is welcome to see my Tax return and I look forward o his apology.
@NileGardiner
What drug are you on ? He is without doubt the worst Prime Minister in my 78+years. He is a liar and a total charlatan whose only love is for himself. Even your beloved Thatcher had some principles this man has none.
@BenGoldsmith
Some people might regard Eton as a cesspool where boys are indoctrinated into believing they are superior. Young people are capable of forming their own opinions and although it's over 50 years since I was a student I'd also demonstrate against Rees Mogg
@fightbrexit
@robertinreydon
@AldiUK
I disagree, there is a big difference between pride in one's country and it achievements and the extreme sort of nationalism seen in Chemnitz . I am pleased to be able to buy British Produce where possible and happy to see it labelled as such.
@ClareGerada
@DrNeenaJha
Good Grief Clare, that comment sounds like some of the GPs I knew when I first started 50 yrs ago I am amazed to see it from you. I think good GP patient relationships should be based on mutual care and respect not the hierarchical model that used to exist.
@AndyGJBurge
@TiceRichard
I've replied repeatedly to his tweets and those of others who think LNOTP is a celebration of nationalism. I suspect that few if any of them have attended Proms throughout the season and experienced the joy of live music played by musicians from all over the world .
@DrEmmaNash
@HantsPolice
Oh how terrible People are entitled to their views as are we ( I think ant-vaxers are bonkers). But no one forces them to have protection against nasty illnesses and they shouldn't force their views on others. Was this dureing a vax clinic ?I hope you and your team are all ok
Following the GMCs decision to measure kindness I wonder how long it will be before all doctors have to do a compulsory training module in kindness which will of course cost a lot and be designed by someone who has given up working in the NHS.
@SteveBarclay
@NHSEngland
@RoyalFamily
I think a fitting tribute to the dedication and hard work of NHS staff would be to pay them enough to take account of inflation & years of under payment And for Junior Doctors working conditions also need drastic improvement
I once had a patient called Albert Hall' Today I met a retired Audiologist who remembered that more than 30 yrs ago I sent a referral letter saying " please see Albert Hall his acoustics are terrible" I guess that these days that would get me up before the GMC.
@hilarybennmp
Enjoyed your thread until point 17. We need to set out a plan for exposing the lies that lead to Brexit and for rejoining the EU. There will always be divisions in the country Labours task should be to reduce them not wait until they cease to exist.
@tug
Dear John as a "neighbour" just down the road on the edge of Aylesbury I would like to thanks you for sharing this beautifully written letter.. I am upset at not being able to visit my disabled son 20 mins away but that is minor compared with what you have endured. Kind Regards
If you are a counsellor you have to have regular supportive counselling yourself; they call it supervision. GPs carry a big emotional load of patients problems plus trying to keep the service going in the face of increasing workload and diminishing workforce yet they have nothing
Do read this article. Many won't understand that GP partners don't get a salary. they get funding to run the practice. A big part of that funding means going through exhausting tickbox exercises
GPs arenโt just exhausted: we are broken | Anonymous
A doctor friend of mine who is also a published military historian has just pointed out that the UK deaths from Covid illness than one year have now exceeded UK civilian deaths due to enemy action in the whole of WW2
@Somerstown4
@AllisonPearson
Was the doctor in A&E an expert in Lyme Disease or even in rashes in children which are bread and butter to GP. Lyme disease is still rare and in my experience it is usually a single lesion. On the arms ? Any evidence of ticks ? Rolling in long grass where deer have been ?
@RosMadeMe
@simonharris_mbd
I think she's in the same production ! But what about those geezers who arrive from the East with suspicious substances saying they're really kings and just following a star.If the play is like the one I know there's no record of them going back.
Just had a conversation with an other wise erudite friend. Insists that "throwing money" at NHS won't solve problems and getting rid of managers is the answer. Shut me down when I tried to give him some facts re funding. Needless to say he reads the Daily Telegraph.
@birdwoman1966
Friend of mine tried cancelling something for his deceased aunt the company insisted they could only speak to her despite being told she was dead So he eventually phoned spoke in a falsetto voice and said he was his aunt. Cancelled immediately
@The_ChrisShaw
@WillBlackWriter
@bbclaurak
Well I was an NHS GP for 36 years and right up till retiring in 2008 I and my partners could guarantee that we'd see patients with urgent concerns the same day regardless of who they were.
A relative I rarely see has been told that she has sclerosing cholangitis but told not to google it . It seems she's been left to go to her GP for explanation. Wants me to explain. I think this is the duty of whoever made the diagnosis and needs to be F2F. What do others think?
@Skyizblue2
@realpaolathomas
@ChingfordChrisS
@BorisJohnson
Most of our Empire involved invading other countries subjugating those who already lived there plundering their natural resources and forcing them to take our finished goods. Yes there is a Commonwealth but to think those countries owe us any favours is delusion on a grand scale
@Loriagne2
@skwawkbox
What many of us have always known .He may have had Covid, he may have been given Oxygen as aprecaution but he was nowhere near death and to claim he was, is an insult to those who really did die or come close to death
So both Swedish Ambassador and Sweden's official Twitter feed both send very dignified congratulations to England. meanwhile English fans celebrate by trashing an IKEA store and damaging an Ambulance. Takes the shine off the day.
@yaxleymellis
@GeorgeMonbiot
I am a retired GP. The GMC put me back on the Register without my asking. When asked by NHS I said I would do work that didn't involve F2F contact but have never been called. My clinical skills may be a bit rusty but 40yrs experience surely trumps a few hours training
If I read it correctly there are nearly 800 young doctors who've sweated blood and tears passing finals only to be told there are no training jobs for them. What has Govt that claims it will get more Drs in NHS done in the 5 years since this cohort started ? What a waste.
I've just been to M & S Foodhall mainly to pick up an online clothing order. But seeing shelves stacked high with food & picking up a few non-essential things I feel guilty that I can afford what many can't. It shouldn't be like this in C21st. The Tories have ruined our country.
@kwhitestone
@samaritans
@GWRHelp
What a horrible way to die for the person concerned and terrible for the family but don't forget the train driver. This is an event which they all dread and often leaves them traumatised.
@ScottBentonMP
Study History Son this is exact how the Nazi's started by making a group of people scapegoats and treating them as less than human . The best way to stop Channel crossings would be to open up legal ways for asylum seekers to apply to be here. and not to stir up hatred.
@implausibleblog
I've never thought I could fall in love with a Tory but Baroness Warsi is an exception .She is caring intelligent and eloquent. Having seen her once on HIGNFY she also has a great sense of humour. The big question is "so why is she a Tory"
@maitlis
I've tried to ignore all of this, but what ever you think of the Harry & Meghan affair the sincerity of Alex Beresford and his courage in speaking out shines though. We need more journalists of his calibre ( and yours of course)
I've just been for my Covid Booster jab in GP surgery 2 miles away Home back to Home in 20 minutes including a chat with a former colleague who did the jab.
#TeamGP
at its best
@NileGardiner
Rule Britannia was written in 1740 when not only was Britain up to the hilt in the Slave Trade but most ordinary citizens of Britain didn't even have the vote . I feel more oppressed by the current Government than I ever did by the EU
In hospital yesterday asked for something other than loud pop music during my procedure. Charming young nurse asked what I'd like. Some Bach maybe. "I've never heard of them are they spelt Bark" on the other hand she got my Venflon in when her senior had failed twice. ๐
@DavidPNoble63
@garygilligan
I'm about to be 80, I even go on Saga cruises but my main hope is that I'll survive long enough to see this vile Tory Government ousted.
@theresa_may
How can we honour the results of a referendum which was according to Electoral Commission and by your own lawyer's admission corrupted. How can we support your implementing a Policy which every day that passes shows increasing damage to our economy & the lives of ordinary people
@jamie_wallis
@BBCNews
I wasn't expecting to be in charge, just to be a minion with knowledge of where to put the needle, freeing up a nurse or HCA to do the day job
I am currently struggling with the blackdog; one of the causes being that I feel this country is at its lowest ebb in my 80 yr lifetime. It doesn't help when OH keeps saying it's been worse at other times as if that will change how I feel.
A lot of things have upset me in the last 2 years but none as much as that video of two antivaxx women hugging each other with glee after binning a box full of Covid tests at MK test centre . The depth of their stupidity has brought me to tears. What has happened to our country?
@DrPJJB
Dear Patrick when I was a junior I wasn't that well paid either: ยฃ1000 a year for 108 hrs a week and no overtime pay but I had no student loan to pay off. got free hospital accommodation free food on duty and parked my old car by the hospital front door. Today is different.
@CarolineLucas
I don't live in Brighton and have never voted Green but I and I am sure that many many others outside your constituency will like me miss you. On so many issues you are a powerful voice of reason and good sense. We need more MPs like you
@DrPeterWeeks1
@NHSEngland
I think it would be much more pertinent to tell patients to speak to their GP before voting as I believe there is no doubt that the current Government are a much greater risk to health and life than going to the gym.
@batanball
@BorisJohnson
I doubt whether
@BorisJohnson
bothers to read tweets about him but just in case he does I agree fully with your analysis of his character. I do not want him to be Prime Minister of my country ever.
@ginsolvesitall
My grocery delivery man today was Polish. Told me he had been a bus driver but gave it up because of the abuse he got. I despair of what this country has become.
@Dr_Claire_B
@CTAbdoPelvis
Why do so many younger doctors, insist on announcing their first name first . What is wrong with Hello I am DOCTOR Bloggs I am the CONSULTANT responsible for your Care. But a well known BMJ columnist said I was being patronising for suggesting this & blocked me. Please don't !
I have been an atheist for nearly 70 years but in the 50s I was a choirboy and the Festival of 9 lessons and carols from Kings never fails to move me as did a friend's grandson singing solo at Westminster Abbey. Suddenly I feel it is Christmas. Happy Christmas to everyone.
Watched the 1st episode of Mr Bates vs The Post Office tonight with mixture of extreme discomfort and anger that so many lives were ruined by what we have long regarded as a trusted public institution and justice still hasn't been done.
@s0f0nisba
"The English" haven't decided anything of the sort our sorry excuse for a UK Government have ignored the science and the current reality and decided this in the interests of their own popularity rather than in the interests of the population
@deelomas
Oh That is B___y Terrible I was a GP for 36 years and right up to my retiring in 2008 a call to the ambulance for a fallen elderly person would have been answered promptly. What on earth has happened since then ? ( rhetorical question)
@SuellaBraverman
@10DowningStreet
Hi Suella. My little sister lives near Durham and is ill. As the head of the family since we have no parents would it be Ok to pop up & see her & could I also visit my adult son with Learning Disability as I haven't been able to check he's Ok for 10 weeks
@Rob_Kimbell
Since when was it an event to "celebrate British culture and History". It is a celebration of the end of a a great summer music festival. Last Night included German, Italian and Hungarian as well as British Composers with a Norwegian singer and an American Conductor
@doctor_oxford
@MattHancock
Wasn't the Cheltenham Festival the week of the 16th- no lockdown then .We started at home then but The government didn't act until after the following weekend
@jessphillips
I spent the day filling bags containing a few Xmas items at the foodbank. My childhood 65 yrs ago was impoverished but never without food and a few little treats at Christmas. I feel tearful that not only has our country come to this but people have voted for 5 yrs more of Tories
@Brexit_Ricky
I'm almost 75 I certainly knew rationing I don't recall the Luftwaffe as I wasn't born in the blitz I have the greatest respect from my parent's generation but the world has moved on since then The best future for my sons & grandsons is in remaining in the EU
Wife says "Surely someone in Fujitsu must have realised there was a problem" I am sure that's right but I reminded her how whistleblowers are treated in the NHS ; I am sure it's much worse in a big corporation.
@Peston
@AnushkaAsthana
If this is true it is more than a mess, it is disgusting behaviour by the Labour Party. For all her faults Diane Abbott has carried the Labour flag for many years as well as making history and leading the way by being the first black woman in parliament. She deserves better.
@nandwics
I think whatt disturbed many of us was the assertion that if a patient has abdominal pain, PAs are experts in diagnosis. Even after 40 years as a doctor I would hesitate to claim to be an expert in diagnosis. Incidentally the Royal College of Physicians don't speak for GPs