NEWS - British doctors losing all morale, says Lancet

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British doctors losing all morale, says Lancet

Last Updated: 2005-04-29 10:55:18 -0400 (Reuters Health)

LONDON (Reuters) - British doctors are suffering from a catastrophic

collapse of morale in the massively over-managed health service, The Lancet

medical journal said on Friday.

An editorial in the journal the week before the election said the campaign

focus on scare stories such as killer superbugs has compounded the problem.

" Politicians have all failed to address the single most important factor

hindering the improvement of health services -- the catastrophic collapse in

morale among doctors, " the journal said.

Most decisions taken within the NHS were for " mostly irrelevant managerial

gratification " it added, and criticised politicians' focus on talking about

the patient as a consumer.

" Patients are not consumers. They are patients, pure and simple, " it said.

A string of damning headlines on the state of the health service greeted the

start of the election campaign as each party sought to portray themselves as

the guardian of an institution that employs 1.3 million workers.

Labour says it has already invested heavily in the service but the editorial

said the focus on putting the patient first, a theme touted by the three

main parties, missed the point.

It described Health Secretary Reid's comments that the patient should

take control of prescribing medicines and surgery as " manifest nonsense. "

" Doctors want to strengthen their professional morale because they know that

a more robust and motivated profession will mean better outcomes for

patients, " The Lancet said.

" Currently no politician recognises this truth. "

Not an MD

I'll tell you where to go!

Mayo Clinic in Rochester

http://www.mayoclinic.org/rochester

s Hopkins Medicine

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org