UnknownLiney said:
To be honest, I would see it as a blessing in disguise. After all you don't have to put up with the medical staff and thier sometimes ably demonstrated lack of intelligence.
After some of the things I have seen I think I would prefer to see a civilian doctor, at least that way I would not have to explian to the medics that so and so cannot walk to the ambulance because he has just fallen off an aircraft wing and shattered his ankle.
Of course it would also be easier to see a doctor in an emrgancy as well, unlike here at Lyneham where for a little while they had implimented the worlds most stupid policy which went like so:
"If you require immediate medical assistance out of hours then please make an appointment for the next working day, or if you require an Ambulance dial 999 and call one, then call RAF police and tell them an Ambulance is comming before walking to the gate to meet it".
Or it was some such bollox as that, in short medical aid was avialable Mon - Thurs 09:00-16:00 and friday 09:00-12:00 All other times you had to wait.
real useful....
Although I have not worked in a med centre in a number of years due to being one of the few State Registered Paramedics in the RAF, I feel that although the medical services are not perfect, I need to make a point.
The majority of policy and procedures that are put into place within medical centres comes from the NHS, including that of out of hours reponse to medical incidents. You do not have on-call medical staff that respond to emergencies from civilian practices, as this response would come from paramedics such as myself that work in the NHS. Also, due to the very high level of deployed commitment (mine is currently 8 months out of every 12), it is impossible to maintain a suitable on-station ambulance response to anything other than aircraft incidents.
It is easy for people to point the finger of blame at sections that are constantly in the public eye, such as med centres. But in truth, if the personnel that were from non-public sections were suddenly thrust into the public eye, how would they react, and cope?
So, please can you get the facts correct before saying that "
Of course it would also be easier to see a doctor in an emrgancy as well, unlike here at Lyneham where for a little while they had implimented the worlds most stupid policy"
You receive far more than you do in the NHS, including free prescriptions, on-site physiotherapy, on-site pharmacy to mention a few. Please cut the staff some slack, and realise the reality of the situation and not have a blinkered approach. There are too many people who jump on the bandwagon without thinking