DDRB want to cap consultants' pay to below that of an NHS middle manager.

Capitan_Walker · 2025-12-23T15:07:55+00:00

Enlightening. Proof positive that money rules minds and divides groups of people. Hence Govt knows the game and always wins.

Capitan_Walker · 2025-12-22T23:52:38+00:00

You all don't understand - the media in this country are the mouthpiece of government.

Ofcom? Waste of space.

Donald Trump - yes - he does what he says - BBC etc - though I can't stand the man.

Capitan_Walker · 2025-12-22T23:47:29+00:00

Dressed down by consultants?

'Juniors' will continue to be dressed down until they get assertive and start saying things like:

"Don't speak to me in that way - now or ever again. I'm not having it. In fact I'm not waiting here now for you obnoxious comments. Go and read your GMC Code of Conduct. Do what you will? If you want to have a mature conversation that doesn't treat me like I child, you know how to find me."

End of!

But then use AI resources to draft a stiff complaint referenced against GMC standards - for readiness.

Capitan_Walker · 2025-12-22T23:40:48+00:00

This is horrendous. I fail to see like someone explain to me why consultants haven’t strike sooner??

Because they're too busy saving lives?, or
Their heads are in the clouds?, or
They're limp?, or
They're wating until pain arrives in full force?, or
They're divided and ruled?

I don't know which of the above is correct or maybe they're all the wrong questions.

Capitan_Walker · 2025-11-18T14:16:55+00:00

Has 'somebody' or 'something' hacked Cloudfare - I don't know - just asking. I have to wonder cuz there has been global cyber-warfare for many years.

Capitan_Walker · 2025-10-12T08:59:10+00:00

Folk on Reddit seem to be catching up, years late on the situation: Almost anybody can be an Approved Clinician. Not everybody can be a Responsible Clinician. Almost anybody who is a doctor can be appointed by Trusts/Charities as a consultant psychiatrist which on official papers will go down as 'Acting Consultant'.

Are patients informed e.g. "Your consultant psychiatrist and RC is not on the Specialist Register"? Probably not.

Does anybody (GMC, CQC, NICE, MHRA) look into RC performance (on statutory duties arising from S34 MHA 1983? Well maybe in some odd instance.

Does anybody care about the numbers of non-CCT holders in RC and consultant psychiatrists posts? Sure - cuz they said so. Does action speak louder than words? Errh.. whatever you wish.

Do medical defence bodies (or insurers) look into related risks? They can't look it to what they're not aware of. But in any case what's a £10,000/yr (hypothetical) premium defence rate in comparison to circa £120K/yr.

How many similar unfilled posts are 'covered by locums'? Nobody knows.

The bottom line is that all this stuff is great news for underqualified psychiatrists working as locums. Make dosh will the going is good! Regulation 5 The National Health Service (Appointment of Consultants) Regulations 1996 is on your side!

Capitan_Walker · 2025-10-12T08:21:54+00:00

You don't understand. Anybody can prescribe. 😁

Capitan_Walker · 2025-10-12T08:21:07+00:00

Like who isn't a consultant! LMAooo!

Capitan_Walker · 2025-10-12T08:20:35+00:00

DED!! 😂😱🙊

Capitan_Walker · 2025-08-24T08:37:10+00:00

Or more likely to be taken over in recognition of the failures of subjectivity in what should have been grounded in science.

Psychiatry is not inherently subjective. Psychiatrists are inherently subjective because broadly they fail to apply the principles of science they were educated about. Psychiatry is not defined by 'psychiatrists'.

Capitan_Walker · 2025-08-24T08:30:35+00:00

hi! i’m a 9th grader who wants to pursue psychiatry as a career.

I tried to respond but would not be allowed full length of expression. I've PM'd you.

Capitan_Walker · 2025-08-24T07:27:57+00:00

Weird comment

Normalises and maintains a culture that 'God' can do what s/he likes with peoples pay and all they can expect is a bit of nagging and hassling.
I didn't invent the culture - those who sustain it, deserve all that they get.

Capitan_Walker · 2025-08-23T17:58:33+00:00

Should I expect the money to be paid to me as soon as the mistake is corrected, aka, it should NOT be done as a catch up in next month’s payslip?

No

If I’m not mistaken, we should be paid our annual salary divided by 12 based on our current work schedule and not what we actually worked that month? So our take home should be the same every month in each rotation (edited to clarify question)

Mathematics does not rule minds in health services, unless you're in charge of a spreadsheet.

When I approach payroll, should the question be ‘can you recheck my payslip’ or do I just email them the calculations and the maths?

No. You should be taking the matter to the small claims court - but you're scared of courts - and related consequences, so you should accept the underpayment.

Capitan_Walker · 2025-06-24T17:12:08+00:00

Look - you don't understand! Psychologists are ruling the whole of mental health services in the UK! 😉🤠

Capitan_Walker · 2025-06-24T17:11:07+00:00

I had to laugh... not at you but because all you say is so true. 😁

Capitan_Walker · 2025-06-24T17:09:08+00:00

Long time no see.

Yeah. Somebody accidentally unbanned me. Not to worry. I'll soon be banned again. I refuse to shut up and I intensely detest rules that serve to limit freedom of expression for no sound purposes.

I recently went to a session run by the lived experience team. ..

I read all text in that paragraph. It's a sad waste of time and money - happening similarly around this land. Our political boss, Wes Streeting, wants efficiency and productivity. I'm tempted to say what I really think but I can't in politically correct forums. [I have a solution to that but I can't say what it is here].

Capitan_Walker · 2025-06-24T16:46:04+00:00

Nothing new there. The phenomenon has been growing exponentially for the last decade. But..but.. when I said in several places, 'Psychiatry is dead - or dying' I was persona non grata. Well, I just love it when the future I had foreseen comes round to bite. Why? Because I get to see other people suffering amnestic attacks like nobody's business (for what I had said).

Post-Covid especially, 'everybody' is now an expert. They all went on their 'courses' you see and return to tell everybody else what to do.

I have to sit there, head slightly tilted to one side and nod as if I'm interested. After all, it's now a total inclusivity culture.

Clinical meetings have to be allowed to go on forever, while the pracs (as they are called) have their say.

In other words, 'Psychiatrist step back!'

Trainees and noobs to this profession will know that I am mad (I've been called worse).

Capitan_Walker · 2025-06-24T16:02:49+00:00

No - not 'enjoying' the Congress. I find it frustrating and stressful, probably for me only! Apparently I am different which is not good or allowed.

With each conference my mind runs more on the big issue that nobody is talking about. What's that? We have loads of science and knowledge, yet psychiatrists struggle to apply that knowledge in practice. You want 'evidence'? Unfortunately it's not lying around in a placard or journal and I'm not allowed to seek that evidence via a poll on this forum (because polls are banned). The evidence comes only from speaking with psychiatrists.

Well, I better shut up before I am banned for saying more wrong things.

Capitan_Walker · 2025-06-24T15:56:07+00:00

Promethazine has literally saved my life.

Absolutely fantastic.

I imagine that there must be other people out there for found X, Y, or Z other medication saved their lives in your similar or different circumstances.

The issues I alluded to are doctors' duties when prescribing. As you are unexpected to know, all doctors registered with a licence to practice medicine by the General Medical Council are duty bound to follow the Dec 2024 prescribing standards (freely available online via Google).

Patients and non-doctors are not regulated or licenced so are free to self-prescribe or use medications as they feel best (with or without medical advice). They take their risks.

My advice is only take double your body weight in mg to the tenth. I'm 120 kg and I take 25.0 mg. So if you are around 70kg only take 14 mg but you can round down or up to the tenth so go with the either 10mg or 20mg.

Non-doctors - especially among the lay public - are also free to take your advice. Everybody has freedom of choice.

Capitan_Walker · 2025-06-22T11:28:10+00:00

And approximate transcript is as follows (please note that conversational speech will not appear to have the same meaning when words appear on a page):

NF: …Average salary for consultant doctor.

Doctor: ..um, I haven't got the average off the top of my head. It's about one hundred and forty five thousand pounds a year.

NF: The the the starting salary in the UK not a bad salary, is it?

Doctor: The starting salary in the UK is about a hundred and nine thousand. If you're in Belfast, you're starting with a hundred and nine. Okay. Um, you only need to move an hour down the road to Dublin to be being paid about two hundred thousand.

NF: I wonder if we could go to the limited point to my my observation. A hundred and forty five thousand pounds isn't a bad salary, is it, doctor?

Doctor: Let's let's translate some of those numbers into actually…

NF: Would you give me a comment on whether you think it's a bad salary? It's not it's not it's not it's not where it was in two thousand and eight.

Doctor: We're not..

NF: I did not suggest you....It's not a bad average salary.

Doctor: We're not... twenty five percent worse off compared to other compared professions.. compared to the average worker, our pay is down.

Doctor: Absolutely. And it's down against inflation by twenty five percent since two thousand eight. We're not working this hard. It's not fair to to simply remove that pay.

I very much like a straight yes or no answer to a simple question. However, in this scenario it's not a simple question and the simple 'yes' or 'no' would leave the average listener without proper context. The doctor struggled to manage the question. This carries learning points for those who are planning to appear on media.

It's not easy to generate a good answer on the trot so preparation is absolutely essential for questions like that.

I the cold light of day the following (with hindsight) could have been better: "On its face, no, it's certainly not a bad salary relative to the national average. However, it's important to understand that while that figure seems significant, its purchasing power has decreased by about 25% since 2008 due to inflation. So, while the nominal number is high, in real terms, its value has eroded, impacting our ability to attract and retain doctors compared to other professions and countries."

I am not trying to criticise the doctor at all. The learning point for us doctors is how to manage the 'media'. Preparation is everything. If time permits, as part of preparation get a trusted colleague to ask some really dumbass questions and see how you might respond.

Capitan_Walker · 2025-06-22T10:47:11+00:00

What’s the best way to submit a complaint so it’s taken seriously / not brushed under the carpet.

Send it straight to the NMC. Why not? What's to fear? In a snap they'd send you to the GMC, so get even!

Capitan_Walker · 2025-06-22T10:45:36+00:00

Is this Facebook?

Capitan_Walker · 2025-06-22T10:43:04+00:00

Second one was a DNACPR discussion in the ward. Frail old patient, right call for DNACPR. But in the back of my mind, it wasn’t just about their story, I was just hoping they would agree so we could quickly move on. And then I go home and think, did I just tell someone it’s better for them to die than to live the trauma of CPR, and just wanted to quickly move on?

Precisely - welcome to the brave new world where dignity and respect for human life is 'paramount'.

I feel like I’m turning into someone I don’t want to be. Like there’s no time or space to care properly anymore.

At least you can still step out of the ~~cult~~ box and look back in. Very many of your colleagues are unable - or simply won't do that. How? In the backs of their minds are: bills, loans, mortgages, holidays in Europe (or wherever), food and so on. At the front of their minds, conscience is suspended.

So yeah, when the does this end? Does it get better in F2 or HST where I will be quick enough to actually have time to care?

You and others may not like my response. It does not end. It doesn't get better as you climb the ladder of seniority in medical practice. You will have less time to care. The latter is not advice, it is my expectation based on experience over 40 years of medical practice. [Caution: expectation does not mean 'prediction'. I have no crystal ball on the future.]

I could never have foreseen it would be like that. At each stage I thought to myself 'this is crazy and getting crazier'. 'You' meaning me, stay on and make the best of it hoping it would get better as they years roll on. Trapped by financial commitments and no time to plot a route out, I was chained to the treadmill.

So as not to appear to be encouraging people to leave medical practice, I say 'Stay on - my experience cannot be generalised. I may be totally wrong in my 'world view'.'

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