Doctors need to repay us for paying for their training

I recently read your very pertinent, and timely article in the South London Press, and would advise that of course the elderly are more likely to suffer from the shortage of, “doctor time availability”, but other younger people are also going to suffer, long term, because of the position.

I am not qualified to determine who is responsible for the position we are in, although I would say that my experience with the NHS is that they appear to be burdened with the inflexibility usually endemic with a large and bureaucratic operation, managed by civil servants, instead of industrial, and focused managers.

You should note, however, that I have been advised, by a very reliable source, that a major problem is that many of the GPs contracted to the NHS are not prepared to work the hours needed, or required, as their remuneration, and pension benefits, are diluting the hours that they need to work, enabling them to, in effect, follow a life-work style balance policy which, although more amenable to them, is adding to the stress of patients, and loading up the workload on other doctors in patient support.

While we all recognise the value of the doctors operating in support of all of us, it might be worth advising some of the doctors that the often low paid public, in the community, have invested close to £500,000 on their training, and it would seem only fair if this could be repaid, with the expertise that they now have.

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