Dr Tony Copperfield does not shy away from (ironic) pay transparency
I don’t need to tell you people that the Government’s insistence on pushing through their Pay Transparency scheme would, at the best of times, be a kick in the teeth.
But it’s not the best of times, is it? It’s a time when we are deluged with flu, covid and strep A without any respiratory-hub-shaped cavalry coming to rescue us, while trying to carry on with our routine work in the context of all those around us going on strike.
So the barefacedly vindictive nature of this initiative, and the fuel it will add the inferno of media GP-baiting, is kick in the teeth, knee in the groin and stomp on our collective GP crania.
We’re not going to go on strike, let’s face it. But we could treat this spiteful requirement with the professional contempt it deserves via a dignified and meaningful protest. The obvious idea would be to refuse to partake in the self-declaration process. This would achieve a rare show of GP unity and militancy. But there’s the obvious flaw of it being a contractual requirement – so we could end up with a financial withholding which the media will bay for and then proclaim as a triumph.
How about another ploy? To make the point about the unbearable stresses of GP workload, we could simply extrapolate the current very real crisis of person-power ad absurdum. Given the problems with recruitment, retention and practices handing back their contracts there could, for the purposes of this argument, come a point where there will only be one GP left standing.
Back of the envelope calculation: there are 36,733 GPs in England and the average earnings are about £80K per year. Which means that last GP, before turning out the primary care light, will be earning about £3bn p.a. So why don’t we all agree to self-declare that figure?
It’s great to treat viciousness with irony. And if anyone, and in particular the media, query that figure, we can explain it, can’t we?
Dr Copperfield is a GP in Essex. Read more of his blogs here
Doctors are bad corrupt dishonest people. Nurses shouldn’t get paid and should pull up their socks or tights and care more. And it’s on ambulance crews if someone dies. Is someone noticing a narrative here from the narcissists up there? You know, the C-grade bullies who sat at the back of your classroom, and took illicit what nots in the bushes. The narcissistic narrative of fear and control, is cheap and boring now, sticks and stones, been there done that rubbish. New dawn is here. The institutes will fall. You’re smarter than them. Period.
You can declare whatever you want. I am not going to.
The masses with their torches and their witch hunts, they don’t value the service/product that is general practice. Hand back the contracts en masse and start charging £70-100 per 10 mins.
You can work 2-3 days per week. You don’t have to work evenings or weekends. With General practice being 58% female GPs that latter part if no doubt attractive. If only we could get them to value themselves enough to charge for their skill and experience.
Why is it that every female dominated profession earns poorly as compared to an equivalent male one?
Damn that agreeableness trait that is found more in women than men. And More in those involved in caring professions like healthcare.
35% of dentists are female. 10 years ago it was 24%. Now it’s just over 50% of new entrants into the job market are female. Does that mean in a few years dentistry is going to get cheaper?
Nah, most dental clinics are owned by men or investment funds and the like that own dozens of clinics. They set the prices and oversee the business model.
General practice is doomed. It’s on its way to becoming a salaried profession.