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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/us_doctors
Sleep-deprived doctors told to drink coffee
CANBERRA (Reuters) – Exhausted Australian doctors have been told to drink up to six cups of coffee a day to stay awake during extended shifts, building pressure on Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to seize control of state-run hospitals.
A document on fatigue management released by health officials in Queensland state recommended doctors ingest 400 milligrams of caffeine to stay awake on the job, or the equivalent of six cups of coffee, after warnings that patients were dying.
"For management to just say go and have a cup of coffee and get over tiredness, it cheapens the whole issue," Australian Medical Association Vice President Steven Hambleton told Reuters.
"We are talking about serious issues here, and this is not just a serious suggestion at all. It can't be a weakness to say you're dog tired," he said.
The recommendation followed warnings from a union representing Queensland doctors this week that public hospital patients were dying because dangerously tired medics were being forced to work up to 80 hours without a break.
Australia's national center-left government is under pressure to seize control of the nation's ailing public hospital system, currently managed by state governments with federal funding support, in a $20.5 billion takeover.
With fresh elections a year away, repairing the health system was a key promise that helped underpin the 2007 victory by Labor over rival conservatives, with Rudd campaigning tirelessly on health and promising to fix public hospitals.
Rudd last month delayed a decision by six months, but said the option of a "full monty" takeover was still on the cards.
In advocating the use of caffeine by doctors, the health department document said that compared with other psychoactive drugs, such as the prescription-only stimulant modafinil, caffeine was more readily available and less expensive.
Salaried Doctors Queensland, representing medicos, countered that pumping doctors full of caffeine was not an effective way to deal with fatigue and doctor shortages, often filled in Australia through recruitment overseas.
Queensland Labor Health Minister Paul Lucas said the state was aiming to train more doctors and cap hospital work shifts at 12 hours over the next two years, but had no immediate solution to fatigue and staff shortages.
"If the doctors are not there, we can't do it," he said. "We can't say we'd rather not have it as it is and create doctors out of the air."
Senior Member
This is Australia...I wonder what kind of stress/pressure the Canadian surgeons are under? Or any other country who has government run healthcare for that matter. Just curious....I think Canada's healthcare system has been governemt run since the 40's/50s hasn't it? Surely they've had time to get it right by now...maybe.
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You guys are killin me!
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Tell us what you really think about this cork.Originally Posted by slippedcork
You guys are killin me!
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I remember reading about how their system is having trouble. The new trend is towards individual plans and not gubment. Wonder why?
It can't be denied gubment run anything goes bankrupt so any discussion has to start there! How can a track record like the gubment has ever put a thought of confidence in an americans mind? Unless of course they want something being paid for by someone else.
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The gubment can't run anything without it going down the crapper. Anyone else wonder about this though.. Is the health care issue partially about increasing union memberships? Okay Obama is saying "you can keep your healthcare plan". But, what if your company decides not to carry healthcare anymore because they will only have to pay a 8% penalty and it would cost more for them to carry a private plan. Cost for the company to not carry a private plan and make everyone go to the gubment plan would only be a good financial move for the company right? But, here's the question. Would workers of these companies be inspired by this move to form or join a union? To possibily get part of the workers bargaining agreement to require the company carry a private healthcare plan? Would this scare people into forming unions to avoid being part of the gubment plan? Thus boosting union dues intake for these unions nationwide, which has seen its memberships decline steadily for years. Is this just part of the reason why unions support this plan?
I am not an expert on this matter but I was just sitting here thinking about it and wondered if anyone else had considered this. Maybe I've been up too late...........
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I hadn't thought about the HealthCare Plan being tied to the Union membership push that the Dems have going on,but it's quite possible,Obama is certainly pushing for Union membership and jobs,which in my mind is partly why jobs in my industry (construction) are drying up do to lack of funding,they are trying to force Union work down our throats,it's well known the Dems are tied up with Union Gangsters and get their share of Dues/Kickbacks.
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Yeah the prevailing wage law (thanks Gov. Patton) has really helped huh? Now we pay men who can think Ohm's law is a relaxing zen technique $25-$35 an hour. The projects cost more for the state and the workmanship is worse..IMO.
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Man, thats a great quote, relaxing zen technique, never quite heard it put that way, but I have known electricians that would believe it.
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I agree with wishn, that's a pretty funny quote.
OOOOOOOOHHHHHHMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.
E=IxR
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For starters this aint Australia, we are not modeling a bill after theirs . I wonder where all the Australian doctors went.I havent been seen by one, guess they went to Canada.
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They only had a few the gubment fired the rest.For starters this aint Australia, we are not modeling a bill after theirs . I wonder where all the Australian doctors went.I think it was around the time that our FOOL fired the gubment motors corp. president.
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