NHS doctors urge bosses to let WFH! –

NHS doctors want to be able to work from home even as the worst of Covid is over.

Hospital counselors, who had to protect themselves during the pandemic, say they have shown that they can safely care for patients on the wards through the “wheeled computer”.

The British Medical Association urged ministers to evaluate the benefits of a hybrid study model and said it was “extremely beneficial” for doctors with long-term disabilities or health conditions.

“The ability of some doctors to work remotely during certain times of the pandemic needs to be recognized,” the union said.

But one-fifth of members cited remote work as one of the top three solutions to “address the long-term effects of the pandemic on the workforce.”

“If the working conditions of doctors, including doctors with disabilities or caring responsibilities, can be improved, this should be taken into account,” the BMA said.

The call came from an assessment of how the Boris Johnson administration is handling the pandemic.

While the BMA felt it “cannot protect, promote and support the medical profession”, the BMA described the increase in remote work as “good” for the pandemic.

Commenting on the BMA review, one doctor said the ability to be transferred to wards virtually “works well for lien counselors.”

The same member added: ‘TThe use of remote work has also been very helpful in preventing burnout, especially for parents.

The BMA’s call to consider flexible working comes amid pressure on number 10 at WFH as ministers seek to boost productivity and boost the suburban economy to boost the nation’s urban centres.

Another GP in BMA’s new assessment said remote consultations show what can be achieved without having to see patients in person.

“The remote consultation has really helped to show what can be achieved without a face-to-face meeting,” they said.

“Unlike the government and the media, this system has been a very effective method of triage and therefore an opportunity for the triage therapist to work from home.”

This is despite thousands of patients complaining about how they struggle to see their GP in person.

Activists said remote consultations increase the risk that family doctors overlook the signs of a serious illness.

They also say this is especially true for some sensitive patients who have trouble communicating remotely, such as those with dementia.

Work-from-home initiatives for primary care doctors and other doctors were launched in 2020 in response to the Covid pandemic.

Some of these are designed to help doctors with health conditions that make them vulnerable to the new virus stay at work.

In 2020, a doctor shielding himself from Covid Wales online at Neath Port Talbot Hospital about using a “wheeled computer” to diagnose patients.

Others are designed to reduce the risk of vulnerable patients, such as the elderly, to contract the virus by physically visiting their primary care physician.

Some family doctors in Cumbria have reportedly seen patients in their nursing homes remotely through camera headsets worn by staff.

Doctors should now be consulted about the possibility of “long-term remote work,” the BMA said.

If the working conditions of doctors, including those with disabilities or caring responsibilities, can be improved, this needs to be taken into account.

A spokesperson for the BMA said, “The BMA is not urging the government to allow doctors to work from home or to suggest that all clinical work can be done remotely.

“The reality is that more flexible working has allowed some doctors who were unable to treat their patients at all during the pandemic to continue to provide much-needed assessment and care to their patients.

The report suggests that if continued use of these approaches could increase the accessibility of doctors, for example by allowing people with disabilities to work more on the NHS, this should be given serious consideration by government.

“Doing otherwise risks ousting some doctors from their jobs and ultimately increases the extraordinary pressure placed on the NHS.”

The association’s assessment came as official data showed the number of people awaiting routine NHS treatment in England rose to an all-time high, with record numbers in the emergency room facing “terrible waiting times”.

One in nine (6.4 million) were awaiting elective surgeries such as hip and knee replacements and cataract surgery, with 6.18 million blocked in February.

Of these, 306,000 have been waiting for surgery for over a year, an increase of 2%, and 16,796 have been seeking treatment for over two years.

Separate data on emergency room performance in April show a record 24,138 people who had to wait 12 hours or more to be treated, three times longer than the NHS target and the worst figure ever.

Only seven out of ten patients were seen within four hours of arriving at the “absolutely overcrowded” emergency room, a slight improvement over the past month, the second lowest number on record.

The number of people awaiting routine hospital care in England rose to an all-time high of 6.36 million. NHS data shows one in nine people are lining up for elective surgeries such as hip and knee replacements and cataract surgery, up from 6.18 million in February.

Separate data on emergency room performance in April show a record 24,138 people who had to wait 12 hours or more to be treated, three times longer than the NHS target and the worst figure ever.

Other NHS data show that only 62% of appointments were made in person in March, well below the 80% recorded in 2019.

The numbers also show that about one in six appointments are completed in five minutes.

The latest revision of the BMA comes just nine days after GPs voted against a sweeping proposal to reduce working hours from 9am to 5pm following criticism of the plans.

Commenting on the union’s assessment, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Care said: “We are incredibly grateful to the NHS staff for their tireless work doing everything they can to protect the public during the pandemic.”

Number 10 is currently trying to prevent working from home, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson says it hinders productivity as staff spend time walking and snacking and forgetting what they’re doing.

Mr Johnson’s comments came in response to Secretary of State Jacob Rees-Mogg’s attempt to bring officials back to their Whitehall offices and end the work-from-home culture in government offices.