8th February 2016

Apologies for the short post this week but, for a change, it seems I've just done the regular job. And spent time with the family, doing those things that all too often get shelved for work activities. So this week no added extras, no bolted-on meetings or educational stuff, I just came in, did the clinics, ran the lists, went home. Rare.

Industrial Action

This photo from Saturday's Junior Doctors March is reproduced without comment:

This week we have the second Junior Doctors' Strike, on Wednesday for 24 hours. This will take the same format as the first one, with emergency work still covered. Learning from the first strike I can see the Trust has worked out a bit better what needs deferring and what can go ahead: many more patients will find they are unaffected by the action as day surgery and clinics go ahead as booked.

Surgical LFG March 3rd

The 4 monthly LFG is coming up soon. Please get in contact with your reps Sophie Wrigley & Holly Ni Raghallaigh  with topics or issues you'd like discussed. You might feel that you are all being frequently interrogated this month. Not only do we have our LETB Visit but also an RCS Flying Squad descended looking into the impact on training of having Physicians' Associates on the wards - and of course we're about to go into another cycle of the GMC NTS Survey.

It's all part of making sure the training experience is right for you: it's just unfortunate timing that it is all happening at once. Hope you don't get into questionnaire fatigue: apathy especially in the GMC Survey will not treat us kindly.

Surgeon of the Week

Time for the legendary T&O magician Mr David Elliott. Known for his ability to instantly materialise in any part of the hospital without seeming to move, Mr Elliott is a Trauma God.

Take a moment to hear him talk, on any topic but especially the principles of fracture management and suddenly the scales fall from your eyes.

11th January 2016

Junior Doctors' Strike

I am very aware that some of our non-clinical colleagues and even some of our local medical seniors are uncomprehending of the reasons behind strike action juniors are about to take, so here's T&O junior doctor Ben Dean @bendean1979 explaining the current situation very well:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/F_HpNMWZBvs

And here's a helpful piece from Kailash Chand @KailashChandOBE and JS Bumrah outlining the issues: http://www.theguardian.com/healthcare-network/2015/sep/29/jeremy-hunt-stop-bullying-junior-doctors-new-contract?CMP=share_btn_tw

I realise I don't have to explain the situation to trainees but I have been taken aback by some corridor conversations I've had with senior staff members and what they think the dispute's about (eg thinking it's a conventional pay dispute: they are not asking for more pay, they're asking not to have a pay cut) so thought these links would be a helpful resource.

At time of writing, the strike is set to go ahead on Tuesday. The contingency plans first drawn up for the potential action days in December have been put in place again.

I would like to thank our Admissions Office who again have been contacting patients and rearranging operation dates (I know some of my patients certainly appreciated having their procedures a couple of weeks early). They have worked tremendously hard ensuring the impact on our elective patients has been minimised.

Social Media Lesson

Interviews for CST & HST are coming up. There's no time when interviewing candidates on such a mass scale to surf the interweb, but there is time to do that ahead of Consultant/GP partner interviews, so I'd like to ask you again to think about your social media profiles.

The first question David Elliott asked me at my @ASPHFT Consultant interview was 'what would I find if I put your name into Google?'. I had never thought to check at that point but I've never had a Facebook account & Twitter is a recent development for me, so I had no real skeletons.

It will have taken Sun journalists all of 60 seconds to trawl social media to find evidence of the Moët Medics lifestyle:

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/6850988/Luxury-lifestyles-of-junior-doctor-strike-leaders.html

None of the photos the (alleged) journalists pulled up are bad, by any stretch of the imagination. But it does serve to highlight that all our unlocked lives are open to spin and interpretation - so be aware. Don't let your Consultant/GP partner interview be prejudged. Think ahead and curate what people see about you.

Here is the GMC Social Media Guidance: 

http://www.gmc-uk.org/guidance/ethical_guidance/21186.asp

I understand that to be under such strict rules even in your personal life is an onerous burden and takes the fun out of it - but if you describe yourself as a doctor or allude to your profession even indirectly, you are on show as a healthcare professional.

Congratulations of the Week

Well done CT surgeon (Mr) Dan Rossiter for winning the Training Programme Directors' Poster Prize at the @HEE_KSS Core Surgery Prize Day held at Maidstone General Hospital @MTWnhs on Friday:

Health Education England: Kent, Surrey and Sussex

The LETB website has changed to be unified under the Health Education England masthead. Confusingly, it is not the first or even second choice on a Google search and many of the links you might have accumulated in the past most likely don't work anymore. This includes links that look like "kssdeanery.org". If you're on social media, you'll see their Twitter handle has gained an extra "E" @HEE_KSS but the surgical one remains the same @HEKSSspeciality.

Here is the weblink as it is now: https://hee.nhs.uk/hee-your-area/kent-surrey-sussex

... and the @ASPHFT pages can be found here: http://www.doctorsintraining.org.uk/

Surgeon of the Week

(This is a personal triumph as I have been hunting down this one since this blog began, so I am indebted to Foundation Programme Director Tayo Johnson for retaining a vice-like grip on him to let me get the shot. He has literally run away from, up till now. Run. I kid you not.)

This week's shy superstar is Consultant Urologist Sachin Agrawal. Sachin is yet another colleague who was here as a junior and came back to stay, which says something about a hospital I think. In fact Sachin & I were juniors in T&O together over a decade ago. 

Sachin has been the mastermind behind the expansion of the trust grade posts at F3/CT level, improving manpower and thus patient safety that has been rolled out across Urology, Surgery and T&O. He's a terrific Trainer and a stalwart of the Surgical LFG.

In an aside, it is no accident that Urology has featured heavily here in this section. Urology is the only Department to have received Green Flags in the @gmcuk National Trainees Survey and provide constant support at Surgical LFG (local faculty group) meetings. My Urology colleagues can always be counted on to support educational events, giving up their spare time to do so and between them have garnered the most responses for nominations for the Surgical Trainer of the Year 2015 Award - which will be announced later this month. I am grateful to @SuzRankin for kindly agreeing to award the accolade.

So big round of applause to all our Urology colleagues and my grateful thanks!

Forthcoming Attractions

A date for the diary @RoySocMed Trauma Symposium 2016:

https://www.rsm.ac.uk/events/events-listing/2015-2016/sections/orthopaedics-section/org06-trauma-symposium-2016.aspx

This meeting is organised by @ASPHFT's own Jon Monk @jonny_monk and stars David Elliott @davidsimonellio amongst the fantastic speakers on this 3 day trot around the hot topics in Trauma. Get on and quickly book your spot as we are right up against the 6/52 booking notice deadline

23rd November 2015

Junior Doctors Industrial Action

On Thursday I was in the College @RCSNews at the Surgical Tutors Conference (listening to Bruce Keogh as it happens) when all our phones started buzzing with the news of the strike ballot result. 

Bearing in mind all the speakers in that room were politicians (medical politicians is no different from the regular sort) I was surprised at what they said in that room was at odds with what they put out in public. For example, the President of the RCS @claremarx described the leadership at the Dept of Health behaving with "ineptitude" and Sir Bruce Keogh deeply regretted ever saying "7/7 working" when what he meant was services should be available 7/7, that the SoS was "obsessed" with calling excess deaths "unnecessary deaths" and of the 11,000 deaths described that way, only about 4% were truly avoidable. 

So I was shocked to read the pre-prepared letter to the Press @DrBruceKeogh put out whilst he was talking to us suggesting that given the events in Paris he was concerned striking doctors might not react appropriately. It was utterly contrary to how he spoke with us and I still can't get my head round it.

We're on your side

Feedback in the room was strongly supportive of junior doctors and whilst everybody wants negotiations without threats, I want you to know that Consultant Surgeons support you. Stella Vig @svig2 Consultant Vascular Surgeon, Croydon organised this letter (which I am proud to have signed) published in the Sunday Times (paywall) http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/comment/regulars/lettersandemails/article1635488.ece

Well over 1,500 Consultant Surgeons have put their name to it and more are adding every day.

I have circulated this letter to my fellow LFG members, but if you are a Consultant Surgeon and would like to add you name or, if you are a junior doctor who would like to read this letter of support or, if you just want a cogent, compelling account of Why the imposed contract is all wrong, the letter is here: Open Letter to Rt Hon MP Jeremy Hunt Voicing Concerns- from Consultant Surgeons 

Irritation of the Week

Every time I go to the College, this 'painting' outside the Lecture Theatre deeply annoys me:

It portrays the Council of RCS England when Bernard Ribeiro was Prez, so 2005-2008. It can be summed up as Pale, Male and Stale: two women and two faces of colour amongst the 29 heads.

Come on people. This does not represent me or My College. Four seats are up for election so colleagues - go for it. Some serious shaking up is required. And I hope this alleged painting becomes an historical oddity to be embarrassed about.

A New Surgeon Starts

A big @ASPHFT welcome to new starter Mr Rajesh Jain. 

Rajesh (left) is a Bariatric Surgeon and joins Sameer Humadi (centre) and Shashi Irukulla (right) in developing the Bariatric practice that Ashford Hospital is becoming renowned for.

Surgeon of the Week

Whilst we're on the topic of Bariatric Surgery, it is my pleasure to introduce Sameer Humadi, see here with the gorgeous Sr Louella Madrid Gabitas

Sam Humadi is an upper GI surgeon but with a focus on Bariatric Surgery. Ashford Hospiral has a really successful reputation in this field.

Forthcoming Attractions

Hard I know to keep focus when the first Doctors' Strike in 40 years is looming so another shameless plug for the Surgical Skills' Competition 'Are You Cut Out For It' two days after the planned first day of action.

I'm also running the Regional Training Day in T&O on December 11th where at lunchtime I will be holding  a "Portfolio Clinic" in prep for CST & HST interviews.