Don't carry on doctor!

[Guest The Big Green Bastard]

Swine flu fear GPs ‘to strike’ | Metro.co.uk

 

Doctors could refuse to work if swine flu spreads throughout Britain because they fear they may not be insured if they put their lives at risk.

Some GPs say they will try to avoid dealing directly with patients so they do not catch the virus, according to the British Medical Association.

 

'We don't want to be going into it with GPs feeling unsure where they stand. Doctors are only human and some will not want to go on the front line,' said Dr Dean Marshall, one of the BMA's flu planning negotiators.

 

Patients' groups accused doctors of threatening to duck their duty and criticised the timing of the announcement – the day after the death of the first Briton from swine flu.

 

It was announced that the premature baby born to the first victim, Scottish mother-of-three Jacqui Fleming, 38, had also died.

 

The number of cases in Britain now stands at 1,320 but experts fear infections will soar in the autumn, especially in September when children to school after the summer holidays.

 

However, some GPs are worried about the depth of their death-in-service insurance cover, the BMA says.

 

Dr Marshall said: 'A locum could die at the weekend and their family might not get a payout. That is not fair and could make some think twice about helping out.

 

'Doctors will be putting their lives on the line and it is only right they can feel assured they are properly covered if anything goes wrong.'

 

GPs also want guarantees that their indemnity insurance against being sued by patients will be adequate in the event of a pademic.

 

If they do decide to refuse to work, there are fears that the swine flu virus will spread faster as patients face delays in getting treatment.

 

But Dr Michael Summers, vice-chairman of the Patients' Association, said: 'I'm very surprised they would say it now when they pandemic level has been raised as it could result in extra panic, which is something we've been trying to avoid.'

 

Meanwhile, Ms Fleming's baby, Jack, who was born 11 weeks prem*ature while his mother was suffering from the infection, died at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley.

 

He did not have swine flu. Scottish health secretary Nicola Sturgeon said his death so soon after his mother's was an 'unimaginably painful loss'.

 

So much for helping the sick. It's a sad day when a doctors insurance policy governs what conditions he/she can treat. Discuss.