George Tyndale: Millitant doctors need a dose of reality

Jan 24 2012 by George Tyndale, Sunday Mercury

REMEMBER those innocent times when dedicated undergraduates went into medicine to cure the sick and tend to the dying?

Family GPs were symbols of self-sacrifice, working all hours to help those, who through no fault of their own, were unable to help themselves.

Doctors worked tirelessly in the community, driving at night through the wind, rain and snow to adminster pain relief, carry out life-saving procedures and assist pregnant mums.

And because of this diligence, this commitment to the greater good, GPs were highly respected. They were the very pillars of the community.

How times have changed. Today, money-grabbing young medics go into the profession to line their pockets.

They work less than they used to, carry out fewer duties than they used to, and get paid more than ever.

Qualifying as a GP is like winning the lottery.

Think I am over-stating the point? Then consider this: the average GP’s pension, paid by the taxpayer, would cost a private sector worker the equivalent of £1.7 million.

The latter, operating outside the cosseted world of a unionised workforce, would have to work his, or her, backside off to stash away that sort of cash. GPs simply have to turn up for work to hit the pension jackpot.

So why are doctors threatening to strike for the first time in more than 30 years?

Of course, there can only be one conclusion: GPs are prepared to down stethoscopes out of greed, plain and simple.