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COVID-19 DiU and Unite H&S at work Schools Staying safe Transmission

Schools should not take in more pupils on 1st June unless it is safe to do so

On the 7th May, Doctors in Unite expressed its full support for the National Education Union’s five tests before schools could take in more children and colleges re-open. In brief, these tests were: Far lower numbers of COVID-19 cases A national plan for social distancing Testing, testing, testing Whole school strategy for testing in the […]

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COVID-19 Staying safe Testing Transmission TTIS

‘Isolate, trace and support’ is the only safe way out of lockdown

Doctors in Unite believe that comprehensive, publicly coordinated and community based ‘isolate, trace and support’ procedures are vital for control of the COVID-19 pandemic as lockdown is eased. To keep the frequency of new cases in the community manageable people must be supported to self isolate once they are identified as potentially infectious. To this end […]

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COVID-19 Defend the NHS Privatisation TTIS

Public Health & Primary Care

In January 2019, Doctors in Unite issued proposals relating to public health and primary care. This document has now been revised, and can be found here. (This is distinct from a similarly titled set of proposals called Primary Care & Public Health: A Vision For Revitalising General Practice). In the light of the COVID-19 pandemic the […]

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Government Policy Hostile Environment NHS Surcharge

NHS surcharges have been dropped for overseas health workers. We must now end all unfair healthcare costs

Doctors in Unite is delighted that the government have seen sense and ended the NHS surcharge for overseas health workers. We all owe health workers from overseas a huge debt. They often carry out the work which attracts the lowest pay, and without them the NHS would collapse. They don’t just contribute in the hours […]

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COVID-19 Testing TTIS Uncategorized

Testing times require radical solutions

We believe that the failure of the UK government to properly coordinate testing for COVID-19 has contributed to the UK suffering the highest death toll in Europe. Countries that have had lower mortality adopted robust testing strategies early on. Testing centres are not local to where most people live. A common stipulation is that they […]

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DNACPR Government Policy

Blanket DNACPRs are not the solution for panicked healthcare rationing

The rising death rate from COVID-19 and the pressure of the pandemic on a weakened NHS have caused warranted anxiety. There were reports from Italy of rationing, when life saving equipment was simply unavailable for some sick patients, and difficult triage decisions had to be made by doctors. Many deaths in the UK are occurring […]

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COVID-19 DNACPR Government Policy Hospitals and IPC

Thoughtlessly placed DNARs do harm to patients and doctors

Doctors in Unite reiterate our opposition to any scoring system being used as a blanket cut-off to people accessing hospital care. We understand that conversations with patients about their wishes with regard to treatment and end of life care can be very helpful to ensure dignity in dying, but these must be undertaken with the […]

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commissioning Defend the NHS Government Policy Local Authority Privatisation

Matt Hancock offered to auction his football shirt for the NHS – we need proper funding, not charity gimmicks

Doctors in Unite would like to remind the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care that the NHS is not a charity but a government funded health service, set up in 1948 with the specific intention to remove health care from the precarious state of reliance on income or beneficence. Matt Hancock has his […]

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COVID-19 TTIS Zero COVID and Government Strategy

Our exit from lockdown must be safe and sustainable

The UK has been in lockdown since March 23rd 2020 in an attempt to slow down the spread of COVID-19. Six weeks on the number of new cases per day has begun to decrease and the government and businesses are clamouring to restart the UK economy. We believe that people’s health should come before profit […]

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DiU and Unite Unite Leader statements

A message of solidarity for the National Education Union

Our chair Dr Jackie Applebee has a message of solidarity for the National Education Union.