STORY:
Prominent Doctor Predicts NYE Catastrophe

A leading British physician says the New Year's holiday could cripple the country's health care protection because of a lack of hospital staff.

According to a story from the BBC, the president of the Royal College of Physicians, Professor Sir George Alberti has written to NHS chief executive Sir Alan Langlands asking him to ban hospitals from running holiday rotations with skeleton staff over the entire period. The story says Alberti believes British health care has enough problems maintaining good care with normal staffing over a holiday period.

Alberti predicts the few doctors around will be forced to spend all their time dealing with emergencies, and not on caring for patients on wards. At issue are claims by many hospital workers including nurses who are objecting to the premium rates proposed for working the New Year's holiday period. The workers believe the pay is too low.

A spokeswoman for the Royal College of Nursing rejected the idea that nurses were less motivated to turn up for work than doctors, but warned that the availability of agency work meant that some might resign rather than accept meager bonus deals. The BBC quotes the spokeswoman as saying "What we need is a national bonus settlement. I'm not saying people are going to leave in droves, but many are unhappy."

Couples opting for a millennium baby could be a problem too. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has already issued warnings that attempts by couples to conceive a millennium baby could cause major difficulties for maternity departments.

Individual hospitals must negotiate millennium pay rates with their staff. In London, a bonus of around £150 has been offered - elsewhere it has been double or three times that figure.

The Manufacturing, Science and Finance Union, which represents tens of thousands of NHS staff, has said triple pay is a "minimum".

Source: BBC

DATE: 5/28/99

For more E2000 stories, click here:
news | events | Y2K | today's news

Marketplace
Books
Collectibles
Celebration Supplies
General Merchandise
Travel Packages