Doctors and freedom of speech

Story here.

This has been covered by other medical bloggers. I don't blog as much as I used to because I often feel generally pissed off with the way the NHS and the Medical Profession generally seem to be heading.

But I am really very cross about the way that the events leading to the Pulse story have been dealt with. Go on, click on the first link in this post if you haven't already read it. Professor Paice's comments about free speech are quite enlightening.

The Jobbing Doctor has also posted that various out-spoken bloggers have gone quiet. That worried me. But I'm not anonymous, never have been.

So we can say what we like, as long as we mind how we say it, or by implication, who we say it about?

Well, as an alternative, how about I say what I like and you put up with it?

This isn't Stalinist Russia. It isn't even the USA. If you don't like it, I do believe you can bloody well put up with it.

Despite the fact I am a professional, I am also a citizen of this country and am entitled to express my opinions to whomsoever I choose in whatever way I see fit within the bounds of the law.

Not the bounds of others sensibilities.

I haven't really said much about MMC/MTAS and the utterly ridiculous and reprehensible way in which our junior colleagues have been dealt with, and I specifically include the young surgeon in Scotland in that comment.

Someone should be held to account.

It will be interesting to see the GMC's attitude to the reporting of Donaldson to them by RemedyUK.

And I don't think its any coincidence that iwantgreatcare.org is out now. I would very much like to see a definite statement about it from both the Department of Health and the GMC, specifically with regards to their level of involvement in the project.

But I won't hold my breath that anything of any substance will occur.