Tom Dolphin🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️

Pleased with the DM article that accurately sums up some of the values I live my life by (albeit they used some unkind words to do so), plus they chose a flattering photo. Anyone feeling solidarity with me is very welcome to donate to the Strike Fund too! bmastrikefund.raisely.com

@dwoodhouse1 I met with some of their leaders to discuss their organising strategy for particular groups of doctors we have found it more challenging to organise, and found that instructive. They have had a tough time in some respects from very aggressive anti-union governments in the past.

@thomasdolphin What can BMA learn from the IMO .?

Great pleasure to address an all-member open meeting in Belfast tonight. We talked about the shocking health disparity between NI and the rest of the UK, the lack of training posts, the pull of Sláintecare, and how @TheBMA’s new, strong collective voice can start to address them

Today's Covid Inquiry report recounts the pandemic’s truly devastating impact on doctors, and our patients.   Watch @thomasdolphin speak to press this afternoon

@purmj @doctor_katie Thank you!

Ballot returned @doctor_katie @thomasdolphin

PS The election pack is still paper (and huge!) but that's because the changes to the law allowing electronic voting for this election haven't come into force yet, sadly - hopefully this is the last time voting will be physically as well as metaphorically weighty...

We need more trained reps working alongside our expert staff to build workplace density; structures aligned with our workplaces; proactive campaigning on our priority professional/union issues nationally and locally; and the financial resources to sustain the BMA into the future.

Don't forget to return your BMA Council voting pack - I'm standing for Council again, so I can continue to fight for doctors and medical students. We need a strong union, and I'm driving forward our strategy to put power in the hands of the profession again.

Royal College of Anaesthetists has doubled-down on its Scope of Practice document for PAAs (Physician Assistants in Anaesthesia, aka Anaesthesia Associates), and does not support or see any justification for a rapid expansion of the PAA role. anaesthetistsunited.com/rcoa-doubles-d…

Last month, our Co-Founder Professor David Nott, Dr Tom Avery and anaesthetist Dr Ian Nesbitt trudged through dense jungle and across rivers to save lives in Myanmar. They spent 10 days in a jungle hospital where they trained doctors and conducted operations. David Nott: ‘Lots of people are dying because of lack of surgical knowledge. Many doctors working there weren’t able to finish a formal residency training, and no one has had any teaching for the past 5 years. They were so keen to learn. One surgeon drove hours through the jungle to discuss a case with us and drove back again. Patients were brought in on bamboo cane and tarpaulin stretchers known as a ‘bamboolance’. #frontlinesurgery #wardoctors

Photo credit to Dave Farren!

Separately, atomised, we find it hard to make a difference in the face of massive systemic problems. Together, collectively, we can drive change that benefits doctors and patients, and through the BMA our voice is raised. Thanks for having me, Alan and team!

It was great to hear thoughts and views from so many tonight at our all member meeting at Riddel Hall, thanks to speaker Dr @thomasdolphin chair of UK council for joining us. If you would like to get involved or join the BMA, click here: bma.org.uk/join-us

@drmattuk A fine and appropriate reward for your Covid service 🫡 🙄

This happened to me too - but for work I did graduating EARLY to help during the first COVID wave in 2020. Trust sent debt collectors 2 years later, couldn't provide the timesheets for the month they claimed I was overpaid, then pursued me for 6 months anyway.

Nice to feel valued… what a way to treat staff. Resident doctors are particularly exposed to mis-payment, as they rotate often, and it frequently seems to be a huge surprise to employers when they arrive. Paying them correctly is complex and often done incorrectly.

In honour of #LGBTHistoryMonth, which this year seeks to recognise LGBT people’s contributions to science and innovation, @BMAtim looks at four important figures from the world of health and medicine. thedoctor.bma.org.uk/articles/healt…

Excellent news - congratulations to the team at @BMAScotland and the residents in Scotland who have demonstrated how effective unions can be when the members stand together ✊

Doctors/med students: fill in @TheBMA's survey on advanced practice roles and their potential impact on training and for employers to extend their scope into work only doctors should be doing. It closes this Thurs at 4pm so be quick! (It takes ~10 mins) surveymonkey.com/r/MVXCB99

Thank you to the Isle of Man Medical Society for their warm welcome. The doctors here are united and the solidarity is clear to see. ✊ It literally hasn’t stopped raining the whole time I’ve been here but I’ve found Man to be a friendly, delightful place. Will be back! 🇮🇲

Agreement on having tripartite negotiations BMA-ManxCare-DHSC to reduce back-and-forth; agreement that Man can learn from England’s missteps on doctor substitution; agreement that the Man Clinical Senate must be key to ensuring doctors’ voice in service decisions. ⚡️

After a stormy arrival yesterday, had a full day today meeting members on the Isle of Man; followed by Manx Care’s Chief Exec & MD; then the Chief Minister, Treasury Minister, Health Minister and DHSC’s Chief Officer. Productive conversations, progress on important issues: