BMA under fire with Health and Safety Executive
The BMA, or British Medical Association, is under fire because of a strike dispute. There is a dispute over pensions that has created a stoppage in care for patients. Any surgeries or outpatient appointments that were not considered dire were cancelled under the BMA ruling due to the pension issues. This decision to stop surgeries is being seen as a health and safety breach of the worst sort in the media and those patients whose appointments have been cancelled.
A doctor is certainly going to know if a patient is in stable condition, but in terms of health and safety training a doctor also knows that providing care to the patient is their sworn duty. Cancelling surgeries or postponing them because of a pension dispute is an issue. It could very well lead to a patient’s worsening condition even if they seem stable at the moment.
Most of the cancelled appointments and surgeries were for outpatient procedures, but still there is a basis for the HSE feeling that a duty of care has been lacking due to pension issues. Certainly, those in the medical field deserve their pensions, but in the same picture, the doctors have a duty to ensure patient safety. If something is not resolved soon there may be action from the HSE such as a suit for safety and health at work breaches wherein the NHS or other medical firms may be prosecuted or subject to fines for their actions in letting doctors strike.
