EBME Forums Forums Management Professional Issues The Alliance for Patient Safety

Jim - I actually feel quite sorry for you. In good faith you put up an article on this forum explaining your position and asked for support.

It would appear that some people in our profession have quite strongly held views on this subject and are certainly not afraid to publish them. That is obviously their right.

Reading the views of members on this forum has been quite enlightening. Whilst I have an opinion I wasn't going to get involved in this matter. However, after reading this thread my mind is now made up.

This weekend I will be writing to my MP asking them to fully support your request. Good luck in what you are attempting to do.

I don't know. You turn you back for a couple of days and you miss some juicy VRCT baiting.
Reading up on the posts my views are cemented more than ever. I rally believe that the VRCT is so desperate to achieve recognition that they will jump on any band waggon to meet their ends, shame on them!

Using the Francis Report to brow-beat politicians into wasting their time & Geoff's(typical tax payer's) money debating this issue is shameful. Lets not forget that the harm (such a small word doesn't do justice to the pain and suffering that must have gone on) done to patients at Mid Staffs. was most likely caused by Registered healthcare professionals. Being registered does not stop someone doing harm to a patient. How many nurses, doctors etc have been struck off at Mid Staffs?
Another point to consider is who regulates the senior managers?

I did not say anything about Biomeds or their work at Mid Staffs and certainly did not intend to point the finger of blame at Biomeds working at Mid Staffs.

My comment however is relevant; incidents do go unreported, we do not know how many there are (because they are unreported)but this does not mean they are not significant (hence the example of Mid Staffs).

Lee

Hello Lee, I think I get your point!

But, if you cant quantify a risk, (unreported incidents) you cannot give credence to speculation about what or how many would, or might have been reported.

As Biomed Engineers / Technicians, we deal in facts.
If anyone can quantify the risks to patient safety, caused by unregistered Biomeds, I would be interested in being educated.

Parliament.

Yes. How many times have we attempted to tease out a few valid examples ... and how many have we been offered?

I think the point here is the RISK, by doing what we do, in the best possible way we do it, following the manufactures guidelines, we have the ability to change how equipment performs.
That is the risk.
I am currently doing T397 with the OU, Key skills for professional Engineers and it asks you to investigate how regulation of Engineers is effective and give positives and negatives about registration.
Currently the only Engineers I can find being struck off any register are Italian Engineers involved with the massive earthquake! But other regulated professions (nurses) have been struck off for facebook contact with patients!
How would you feel if in 5 years most of your work were perfomed by Biotec-assistants? (NVQ level3 in biomed!!!) lol
I see this as a way of protecting our community.
Scott

Graze mille! Scott
I think we might be alright then maintaining the status quo.........

If what is actually being discussed here is protecting ourselves - protectionism, the "closed shop", whatever - why doesn't someone go right ahead and say it, instead of all this incessant (but still as yet unsubstantiated) "emotional" talk about imagined "risks to patients"?

A number of inaccurate or irrelevant comments have been posted in this thread which do not deserve a response, however, I believe you need to provide me with an apology. My posts do not mention or refer in any way to the Francis report or make reference to what happened at Mid Staffs. To make that suggestion is completely inappropriate and offensive.