Patsy's Poodle

"Even at the highest levels you have been seen to charge professionals with responsibility but withhold authority"

"It is not acceptable for you to hide behind the responsibility you have dispensed to MMC and at the same time maintain your authority so you can push through your own agenda" Alex Liakos, former student advisor to MMC


Today we turn our attention to the Chief Medical Officer for England, Sir Liam Donaldson. This man is, for all intents and purposes, the 'top doctor' for the UK, and one of the very few who is in a position to exert genuine influence over the government. However, he is an unelected hand-picked yes-man who gives the government's health policies a veneer of medical approval; the archetypal NuLabour apparatchik.

He has also been strangely silent during the unfolding disaster that has been the introduction of MMC and MTAS, offering no explanations, no apologies and no support for the government- he doesn't even have the balls to lick the hand that feeds him. He has sold 30,000 junior doctors down the river with a flawed and incompetent attempt to change the way doctors are trained in the UK, the primary aim of which is to produce cheap, minimally qualified, and above all politically docile, doctors who won't embarrass future governments.

The man is also a hypocrite. As can be seen from his Wikipedia entry, his early career was an unhurried one spent trying his hand at numerous things including Surgery and General Practice. That is to say that he benefited from the flexibility of the old system before settling on his ultimate career intention of self agrandisement and creating a weakened and subservient medical profession. The irony is that Donaldson's precious MMC effectively forces medical students to decide upon their career path whilst they are practically still in the womb. No longer will young doctors be able to gather a wide experience of different specialties before deciding upon the one for which they are most suits them (and their patients!).

There has been a stream of high profile resignations, including Alex Liakos who we have quoted, from the MMC committee that is effectively under the authority of Donaldson. It's former chair Prof. Alan Crockard wrote in his resignation letter to Donaldson:

"From my point of view, this project has lacked clear leadership from the top for a very long time."

In summary, Sir Liam Donaldson has not just lost the respect and confidence of the entire medical profession, he has done irreparable damage to it. The effects of this damage will be felt for many years to come, starting this August. We are not just doctors - we are patients too. Patients can be justly fearful about the quality and numbers of hospital doctors that we will have in the future, because even those in positions of power like Sir Liam Donaldson, haven't got a clue either.

It is time for Donaldson to be held to account over the MMC debacle. He is the chief architect and executioner.

What can we do?

Have you seen coverage of MMC/MTAS on the news and want to register that is is a significant problem for everyone - not just young doctors.

Well, there's an online petition calling for Donaldson's resignation that you can sign. You can also leave a comment, which as a cathartic exercise comes highly recommended. Please remember to use your name.

Click HERE!