The Descendants: the search for Tom Wills
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Telegraph
3 hours ago
- Telegraph
Disgruntled doctors should stop wasting their time striking
Like many NHS doctors, I have seriously considered moving abroad in search of better working conditions. It was therefore no surprise to read the recent report from the General Medical Council (GMC), highlighting that 43 per cent of UK doctors have explored career opportunities overseas. Reportedly, 15 per cent of these doctors have taken 'hard steps' towards leaving UK practice. I have taken these very steps – attending interviews in Australia, visiting schools for my children, and exploring different neighbourhoods. For the time being, family commitments have led me to remain in the UK. According to the GMC report, one in eight (12 per cent) of doctors are considering leaving the UK to work abroad, with nearly one in five (19 per cent) said to be considering quitting the profession altogether. Of course, there is always a gulf between stated intentions and ultimate actions. But the question still remains: why are UK medics so unhappy? Hot on the heels of recent junior doctor strike action, these statistics are yet another reminder of the precarious state of the nation's health service. Many doctors find their working conditions unsustainable and are disillusioned by the substandard care they are forced to deliver to patients. So much so many will choose to leave friends and loved ones, moving ten thousand miles across the globe, in order to work in better resourced hospitals and GP surgeries (where they also receive better pay). Australia – the main beneficiary of the NHS's failure to retain its medical trainees – naturally welcomes British doctors: with streamlined pathways for GPs to relocate, and recruitment agents advertising at picket lines outside NHS hospitals. The exodus of UK doctors from the NHS has been celebrated by Nicole Higgins, the president of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. She has stated: 'They've made a huge difference to rural and regional Australia… to our workforce as a whole.' I have been told by friends that in some Australian hospitals, at least half of the doctors in the emergency departments are British-trained, NHS escapees. The 'brain drain' of doctors leaving the NHS is estimated to cost the UK taxpayer billions of pounds annually; it is a symptom of a health service on its knees. It goes without saying that Streeting and Starmer need to get a grip on the retention of the UK's medical workforce. However, ongoing disputes between the government and the British Medical Association suggest there is no treaty on the horizon. The irony is that many of the doctors who choose to emigrate to Australia continue to support the founding principles of the NHS; despite finding the conditions in the UK intolerable, and preferring to work in a mixed public-private health care system that is primarily funded through health insurance. Arguably, disgruntled British doctors should stop wasting their time striking for higher pay and start demanding root and branch reform of the NHS. International comparisons suggest they would be able to deliver higher quality healthcare while potentially standing to benefit from better pay and conditions. Yet the ideological hold the NHS has on the population, successive governments, and doctors past and present, means that these arguments rarely gain any traction. Instead British doctors lament the 'underfunding' of the NHS while complaining about poor pay and unsafe patient care. The Labour Government find themselves struggling to square the circle of providing a universal, state-funded healthcare system which does not bankrupt the public finances. Meanwhile, the Australians look on in bemusement and rub their hands in glee.
Daily Mail
7 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Woman loses her baby after choosing dangerous 'freebirth' method promoted by Instagrammer
A newborn girl died after her mother delivered her using a home birthing pool hired from an Instagram influencer who advocates for 'freebirths', a coroner has found. Melbourne-based influencer Emily Lal creates content opposing medical intervention during pregnancy, known as 'freebirths', and offers birthing pools for rent. Ms Lal has said she is 'very disillusioned with the medical system' and that registered midwives are 'complicit in, and contributing to, the harm of women'. Ms Lal was cited in a coronial report published on Thursday into the death of a newborn, 'Baby E', in December 2022. The mother, 'Ms E', did not seek regular medical help during pregnancy, attending a GP only at 36 weeks' gestation. She engaged directly with Ms Lal, through her Instagram, 'The Authentic Birthkeeper', from whom she rented the birthing pool she used to deliver her baby. Ms E said she remained in social contact with Ms Lal but did not seek any services or advice from her, other than inquiring about a possible visit after the birth. According to a record relied on by the coroner, Ms Lal recalled Ms E texted her shortly after the baby was born on the evening of December 28 saying: 'I did it.' She did not deliver the placenta until the following morning and gradually became concerned the baby was suffering complications. During the morning, Ms E sent another text to Ms Lal saying: 'We can't wake her, we aren't sure if she's breathing,' alongside an image of the newborn with a blue face. Paramedics were unable to revive the baby, who died on the morning of December 29, but rushed Ms E to hospital for treatment. According to the autopsy report, the cause of death was neonatal pneumonia, meconium aspiration, and chorioamnionitis, secondary to prolonged labour in a home birthing pool. Forensic pathologist Dr Yeliena Baber stated that had the birth occurred in a hospital, preventative measures could have been taken. 'Even if Baby E's condition was poor at the time of her birth, if she had been born at hospital, she would have received immediate resuscitation from trained neonatologists, improving her likelihood of survival,' she said. Coroner Fitzgerald accepted the autopsy findings, stating the use of the birthing pool contributed to the baby's death. 'It was unlikely to have occurred if the birth occurred in a hospital setting, and it may also have been avoided if the birth was a planned homebirth with appropriate midwife support,' she said. The coroner made no adverse findings against the parents or Ms Lal. Ms Lal is not a health professional and her social media profile bears the disclaimer: 'no medical advice'. She has repeatedly claimed it is not her intent to convert anyone to her method of pregnancy and, instead, aims only to express her own opinion. Daily Mail Australia does not suggest Ms E relied on any representations by Ms Lal in deciding how to conduct the birth or pregnancy. Safer Care Victoria (SCV) encourages women and families to seek care from trained and registered health professionals during pregnancy. 'In recent years, there has been an increase in freebirths in Victoria and unfortunately, some have resulted in poor outcomes for mothers and babies, such as severe bleeding in the mother or breathing problems in the baby leading to long term health issues or even death,' its website reads. It strongly encourages 'women and families to seek care from trained AHPRA registered professionals, who can provide medical support when needed, helping to ensure the safest possible outcomes for mother and baby.'
Daily Mail
11 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Tragedy as six-year-old kindergarten student dies of the flu after she was discharged from hospital
A six-year-old girl has died from the flu shortly after she was discharged from hospital, sparking an investigation. The kindergartner had presented to Sydney Children's Hospital at Randwick on August 4 and was discharged, only to be brought back by her worried father later the same day. On the second visit she was diagnosed with influenza A and discharged again. She was then taken to Northern Beaches Hospital shortly after where she died, reported The Manly Observer. Sydney Children's Hospital and Northern Beaches Hospital will conduct a joint review into the case. The matter had also been referred to the Coroner for a separate inquest. Sydney Children's Hospital said in a statement that the patient had presented at the emergency department and was discharged after she was assessed. She then returned and was discharged with 'at-home guidance' for influenza. 'Sydney Children's Hospitals Network (SCHN) has learnt the patient later tragically died. SCHN expresses our deepest condolences to the family for the loss of their child.' Northern Beaches Hospital told the publication it was 'deeply saddened by the tragic loss' and and that an independent review and coronial inquest would be conducted. Across Australia in the first half of 2025 there were more than 150,000 lab confirmed cases of influenza. Vaccine coverage for influenza sits at just 24.24 per cent nationally and 14 per cent for those under the age of 50.
