
Money-grabbing BMA medics see patients as collateral damage in their single-minded pursuit of cash
YOU'LL never see a poor doctor.
The old saying is borne out by the revelation that striking junior medics can earn as much as £100,000 a year.
2
2
Remember these are the grasping mercenaries Labour immediately handed a 28.9 per cent pay rise after the mayhem they caused last year.
Sure enough the Marxist militants of the British Medical Association saw this as an invitation to strike for even more and slapped in a staggering 29 per cent pay demand.
The union fanatics use despicable tactics to keep strikes secret from trusts, making it harder for them to plan cover.
Dr Ross Nieuwoudt, co-leader of the BMA's resident doctors committee, told his members: 'You do NOT have a legal responsibility to disclose whether you are striking.''
This kind of merciless cruelty would make Arthur Scargill proud. Last-minute strikes are bad enough in any public service dispute but in the field of patient care this amounts to a dereliction of duty which the BMA must know will cost lives.
Not all doctors go along with this madness. Almost half of the BMA membership didn't vote in the strike ballot. Professor Lord Winston, the IVF pioneer and highly respected medic, has understandably quit the union in disgust.
As he says: 'Doctors need to be reminded that every time they have a patient in front of them, they have someone who is frightened and in pain. It's important they consider their own responsibility much more seriously.'
Wise words.
But totally lost on those money-grabbing BMA medics who see patients as collateral damage in their single-minded pursuit of cash.
It makes Zero sense
SIR Keir Starmer seems profoundly deaf to dire industry warnings that his crazy £800billion dash for Net Zero will cripple the economy.
But will the PM listen to his own MPs?
A commission headed by Labour MP Henry Tufnell says eco levies imposed on businesses to curb carbon emissions could destroy manufacturing jobs for good.
These ideologically driven taxes are far higher than those imposed by other countries, undermining our global competitiveness.
They could force giant oil and gas producers to move abroad.
When Britain is mired in financial woes, it is ludicrous to be chasing unaffordable and unachievable climate dreams.
When are you going to see sense and scrap Net Zero, PM?

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Independent
28 minutes ago
- The Independent
The health conditions that may increase risk of dementia
Developing illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes before the age of 55 could significantly increase the chance of having dementia in later life, a new study suggests. Strokes or the onset of mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression between 55 and 70 could also increase risk two-fold, according to research. Experts at the University of Oxford said up to 80 per cent of dementia patients suffer from two or more chronic health conditions, but there is a "lack of understanding" when it comes to specific illnesses, age of onset and the link to dementia. They identified "critical time windows" in which certain illnesses pose the greatest risk to patients. For the study, published in Brain Communications, researchers analysed data from 282,712 people using the UK Biobank and looked at patterns for 46 chronic health conditions. They found that heart conditions such as heart disease and atrial fibrillation, as well as diabetes, before the age of 55 was most strongly linked to dementia risk. However, from 55 to 70 years of age, mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression, as well as conditions such as stroke, increased the risk of dementia two-fold. Sana Suri, an associate professor and Oxford Brain Sciences senior fellow, said: 'Although we knew that multimorbidity increased the risk of dementia, it was unclear which combinations of health conditions had the most impact and in what sequence. 'This study has identified how specific illnesses tend to co-exist with each other, and also the critical time windows in which they could pose the greatest risk.' Elsewhere, the study suggests people who have conditions such as heart disease and diabetes in middle age, followed later by conditions such as stroke and mental health disorders were at the greatest risk of developing dementia. Ms Suri said the presence of other illnesses should be taken into account when estimating a person's risk of developing dementia, and could help develop strategies that aim to reduce risk at certain points in life. She added: 'This study identified associations between multimorbidity and dementia risk but we need to understand more about why this happens. 'We also need to try to replicate the study in more diverse groups of people to ensure the results are representative of the population. 'Future studies could examine whether efforts to manage or prevent cardiovascular problems in early-to-midlife, followed by mental health and neurological disorders when people are in their fifties and sixties, might reduce the risk of dementia.'


The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Will Nigel Farage's attempt to copy and paste Trump's policies work in the UK?
A popular maxim on the American right is that politics is downstream from culture. In the UK, it increasingly feels like politics is simply downstream from the US. With Reform UK ascendant in the polls, Nigel Farage – officially MP for Clacton, unofficially Donald Trump's emissary to the UK – is setting the terms of the national conversation, and he is importing them directly from across the pond. Over the past few months, Reform has sought to launch 'Doge' initiatives (referencing Elon Musk's department of government efficiency), waged war on DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) employment schemes, and called for the UK government to embrace crypto and create a bitcoin digital reserve at the Bank of England, following Trump's lead. It seems the Brexiteers were right: Britain doesn't make anything any more – not even its own bogeymen. Reform's repeated attacks on DEI are particularly striking because DEI doesn't technically exist in the UK. The equivalent framework is called EDI (equality, diversity and inclusion), and it is nowhere near as prominent as Reform seems to think. At the national level, Reform has claimed that cutting such equality and diversity schemes could save central government £7bn a year – according to 2022-23 figures, the real figure is £27m. Farage nonetheless insists that the British left 'obsess about DEI and spend plenty of public money on it'. After Reform's success at the local elections in May, he warned that all those working in diversity for Reform-controlled councils 'better be seeking alternative careers very, very quickly'. But the sought-after image – woke council members walking out of county hall with their redundancy boxes while ordinary, hardworking Britons applaud the return to common sense – is unlikely to materialise. A recent investigation by the Guardian found that in Reform's 10 councils, the total number of jobs connected to equality and diversity amounts to fewer than five full-time positions and accounts for about 0.003% of their combined budget. Under Trump's presidency, Doge has vastly overestimated the scale of its government savings – in one notable instance it misfiled an $8m saving as an $8bn one – and DEI has been blamed for everything from a plane crash in Washington to wildfires in California to inflation. A sober assessment of the pros and cons of DEI initiatives – the benefits they can bring to companies, their approach to systemic inequalities that can be superficial box-ticking – has nothing to do with the rightwing backlash against them. Republicans aren't looking for alternative solutions, because attacking DEI gives them everything they need: a way to foment resentment against state bureaucracy, the left, marginalised groups and minorities – appealing to xenophobia and serving capitalist interests at the same time. Why ape US ideas so transparently, especially in a country where even many on the right are repulsed by Trump? One possible answer lies in semantics. Perhaps the hope is that DEI will sound like something new and scary to Britons who are no longer moved by mentions of previous bogeymen such as 'political correctness', 'the bureaucrats in Brussels' and 'the woke mob', just as Doge will sound slicker and more exciting than 'austerity' despite in practice meaning the same thing: stripping local councils down to their barest components – consistent with Westminster's orders for the past 15 years. But shiny US branding will not make cuts any easier. An analysis of Reform's 10 councils by PoliticsHome found that almost 80% of their combined spending is now taken up by social care and homelessness. Another explanation, however, is that Reform's rhetoric is the symptom rather than the cause of a broader Americanisation of the British right. It is telling that Farage's greatest asset in trying make DEI mean something has been GB News, itself a knockoff of Fox News, which has tirelessly warned of DEI's evils – in the NHS, the army, the civil service and so on. ('It's exasperating the number of hours I have wasted on various online 'training packages' on DEI topics,' an anonymous 'senior soldier' revealed in a GB News exclusive, giving Britons a sense of what's at stake.) GB News also recently announced plans to expand its coverage to the US with a nightly show about American politics from September. 'We've seen time and again this year that a decision made on one day in Washington DC is felt the next day in Washington, Tyne and Wear,' GB News's editorial director, Michael Booker, explained. Paul Marshall, the billionaire hedge fund manager who co-owns GB News, has deepened ties between the UK and US right through other ventures as well, such as UnHerd and the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship. Last year, after buying the Spectator, he also came close to purchasing the Telegraph with the help of Ken Griffin, an American billionaire who is one of the Republicans' biggest donors. Marshall's son Winston, a former banjoist for Mumford & Sons, is now a podcast host based in the US. At a recent press conference in Washington, he asked whether 'the Trump administration would consider asylum' for citizens affected by the UK's 'free speech issues'. Trump's press secretary said she would look into it. The special relationship forming between the UK and US right is tainted by the stark imbalances in wealth and power. Take away the vast wealth of its financial centre in London and the UK is poorer than each of America's 50 states. The attempts by the British right to import panic about DEI and dynamism through Doge reflect a desire for inclusion and imagining that the UK and the US are in it together. It's clear what Farage gets from this – the good graces of a US president who wants to be king and prizes sycophancy in his court above all – but the benefits to UK voters are naught. Farage has repeatedly declared his intention to give the British ruling classes a reality check through his success, implying that he alone knows what the UK wants. 'I don't think the Westminster politicians and journalists even get what's going on out there,' he said in a recent TikTok video. But the references to DEI and Doge should remind us that he hasn't a clue either. Samuel Earle is the author of Tory Nation: How One Party Took Over


The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Olympian teams up with researchers to make PE kit more inclusive for teen girls
An Olympic sports star has teamed up with academic experts to help teenage girls feel more comfortable in their school PE kits. Tess Howard, who competed for Team GB in the Paris 2024 games, has joined physical activity and diet specialist Dr Alice Porter to make school sports clothing fitter for purpose. New research has shown that secondary school-aged girls would feel less self-conscious and more able to fully take part in PE lessons if they had more choice over their school sports kit. The study involved interviews and focus groups with 12 to 13-year-old girls and PE teachers from mixed-sex secondary schools in England. Its findings also revealed girls with lower self-esteem may be less likely to join in their PE lessons if compulsory items of clothing felt too tight or revealing. Dr Alice Porter, from the University of Bristol, said: 'We all have memories of our school PE kits and whether they were appealing, comfy, and warm enough or not to wear. 'Previous research has found many girls feel uncomfortable wearing their PE kits. 'Our study looked at how PE kits affect how girls feel about their bodies, how much they are involved in, and their attitude towards school sports. 'Our findings clearly evidence that when girls don't have any choice over their PE uniform, this can be a deterrent to their participation, especially for girls who feel self-conscious and are lacking in self-confidence.' By analysing pupils' lived experience and insights, the researchers also identified possible solutions to address the related issues, especially for teenage girls who may be more affected by school PE kit rules. Results showed girls want to choose the types of bottoms, such as leggings, jogging bottoms, or shorts, they wear for PE. They also want the option to wear additional layers, so they can cover up parts of their bodies they feel self-conscious about. The research recommends that PE uniforms should be offered in a range of styles to suit all pupils and should not be gender-labelled for girls or boys, so irrespectively they feel empowered to choose what suits them best. Changing rooms were also a big talking point for girls in the study, with many feeling uncomfortable and self-conscious changing for PE. A possible solution identified was for schools to allow pupils to wear their PE kit all day on the days they have PE lessons, an approach which girls and PE staff study participants widely supported. The research has been used to develop free guidance and support for schools nationally on how to develop comfortable and inclusive PE kit policies and practices. The initiative, called the Inclusive Sportswear Community Platform, has been designed by Ms Howard. 'We're delighted to be working with University of Bristol researchers to support our work because PE kit should never be the reason someone stops playing sport or feels unable to fully participate,' the hockey star said. 'Kit is a public health issue, and it's a barrier that can be lifted. Far too often, traditional sports kit policies inadequately support the diverse needs of pupils and forget the purpose of sport – to have fun. 'The research findings have provided powerful insights, which we have used to create practical advice and solutions for schools.' – The study, A qualitative study in UK secondary schools exploring how PE uniform policies influence body image attitudes, and PE engagement among adolescent girls, is published in the journal BMJ Open.