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Wednesday 27 April 2016

Telegraph’s Junior Doctor Isn’t

After the Telegraph found a junior doctor who was prepared to endorse the new NHS England contract being imposed on his colleagues by Jeremy Hunt (the former Culture Secretary), the established part of the Fourth Estate wasted no time in singing the praises of Adam Dalby. The Sun lifted his article. Dalby even got a mention in the Guardian. But nobody stopped to look at his background first.
What, not even one supportive junior doctor?

What was his specialism? Where might one find him tending to the walking wounded in A&E? Was he a budding consultant or GP? Did he have experience of theatre surgery? One concerned Zelo Street reader drew a blank on all of those questions, and further investigation showed that Adam Dalby’s CV is rather short on the one thing one might expect a junior doctor to have - medical experience.

What is worse is that he isn’t practicing or training right now. You read that right: while the Tel says Dalby is “a junior doctor working in Antrim”, his own blog admits that he is on sick leave (another site claims that he istaking a year out to pursue other interests”. He tells that, apart from politics, “When I return to work I will also blog about my experiences of working within the National Health Service – a great institution in need of great reform”.

That CV talks of his “clinical diagnostic skills and background in leadership excellence “, but close examination reveals that there is no general medical experience. Sure, there are his degrees, experience in social media, working with a veterinary practice, a “leadership forum”, founding a number of other groups, and business consultancy. But there is no record of medical experience. So what kind of junior doctor is he?

His blog, once again, provides an answer: “I’m an FY1 doctor, with a huge interest in politics and healthcare policy”. What is “FY1”? Ah well. “FY” stands for Foundation Year: Adam Dalby is in his first year after graduating, but has not yet acquired sufficient experience to be let loose on his own. He’s the kind of doctor you might find “sitting in” with registrars or consultants when you visit the local hospital’s outpatients’ department.

Worse, he appears not to have set out on that road just yet. The Telegraph and Sun have effectively admitted that when they tell “He is shortly to move to Yorkshire, where he will work under the Government’s new contract”. Will work. But not “does work” or “has worked”. But he is an “associate consultant” to “a boutique consulting firm based in Northern Ireland” specialising in “leadership, personal productivity, team productivity, customer service excellence, communication & engagement”.

Moreover, “Adam was the Lead of the Communications/Think Tank Workstream at the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management’s (FMLM) Medical Student Group (MSG) and has previously been the Transitional Lead of the Recruitment and Engagement Workstream”. But he appears to have zero experience as an actual junior doctor.

Did the Telegraph not figure this out beforehand? Or were they so eager to find a doctor who supported Hunt, and was prepared to put his name to an article, that they didn’t bother? I’m sure there’s a perfectly good explanation.

23 comments:

Andrew_S_Hatton said...

Gosh I think he spoofed Channel 4 news yesterday, as well.

Anonymous said...

So Mr Hunts shill has been exposed already.

All that 'experience' looks like he is well on with planning the privatisation agenda for Mr Hunt.

Anonymous said...

And BBC 5 Live, he was the chief speaker on their phone-in yesterday morning.

Anonymous said...

Well there's a surprise.

Not.

But what do you expect? After all, the CEO of NHS England is Simon Stevens, who From 2004 to 2006 was president of Yank profit-gouging United Health Europe and moved on to be chief executive officer of United Healthcare Medicare & Retirement and then president, Global Health, and United Health Group executive vice president of United Health Group.

During this time apparently "His responsibilities include leading United Health’s strategy for, and engagement with, national health reform, ensuring its businesses are positioned for changes in the market and regulatory environment." Nothing to do with maximising profits at the expense of the sick and vulnerable you understand.

Clearly, Stevens was appointed for concealed, slow privatisation of the NHS.

By comparison, Dalby is an utter no-mark, a bottom rung glove puppet, a neocon moron of the lowest rank.

Anonymous said...

He was certainly very busy yesterday - saw him on BBC breakfast - thought he was probably a Young Conservative or supplied by Government PR

Dustybay said...

He was on Jeremy Vine too, introduced as a Doctor, when asked whether he was working yesterday he hesitated and said "Errrr, I'm on leave today" - good on doctors' solidarity that Hunt has to employ his own pretend "Doctor" on every outlet imaginable.

Unknown said...

An fy1 doesn't just "sit in with consultants" they practice medicine under close supervisor until trusted to work more independently. Dalby is NOT an fy1 as he isn't enrolled on a foundation training programme. He is a newly qualified doctor who is not currently practicing medicine.

Anonymous said...

Well well I don't think it's a great leadership or professionalism attribute to misrepresent yourself particularly so vociferously in the public eye. I have been asked onto media previously but was adamant I'd be honest about my level of training/qualification. He has presumably graduated and not moved straight to a foundation training post but has taken a year (or more?) out. An FY1 does have a good grasp on the pressures of being a junior doctor in an understaffed underfunded hospital - but he doesn't appear to have opted for one day of being an FY1 yet. Rather telling he's the best they could wheel out.

Darryl Griffin said...

Sounds to me that what he seems to be is someone with political ambitions who is very good at filling his CV with meaningless tattle about management and leadership...
He sounds perfect to be a politician.
However, not a doctor.

jaydeepee said...

He did spoof Channel 4 news. The scruffily dressed simpleton identified himself as a 'junior doctor' and swore that 'the new JD contract was more than acceptable.'

This needs further investigation.

Anonymous said...

Be funny to see his next "appearance" in mainstream media and what questions he gets asked about his political allegiances.

After all, the ranting righties in the Murdoch-Rothermere axis of evil are always banging on about a so-called "hard left leadership" among the junior doctors.

All you have to do these days to get that label is to have the courage to lift your head above the parapet and be as honest and persistent as the Hillsborough families.

Just another demonstration of how low this country has sunk and how corrupt is its media.

Anonymous said...

FY1s are qualified doctors. Your description of an FY1 is inaccurate.

Anonymous said...

He is well on his way to join the dishonest politicians and not as a doctor. Well he got his 15 minutes of fame as a very junior doctor who has a lot to learn. A bit of an empty pot, making the most noise.
As for the press, typical. If you want to know what is really going on, get out on the shop floor. You won't hear any truth from our newspapers or TV

David said...

Adam Dalby ran the student society NI Healthcare Leadership Forum (http://www.nihlf.com/) when he was a Queen's University Belfast.

Doctors in Northern Ireland and Scotland have different contracts and are not under as much pressure as in England.

Anonymous said...

He is a doctor as he's graduated from with a medical degree. Hes not a senior doctor so by definition is a junior doctor.... just not currently working... I'm doing a PhD at the moment, have I ceased to be aa junior doctor for 3 years? No.

Slam his words but this smear does no one any good.

Anonymous said...

Oh dear...can we lock him up for impersonating a Doctor like the fellow below?

http://www.cps.gov.uk/westmidlands/cps_west_midlands_news/man_pleads_guilty_of_impersonating_a_doctor_/

Anonymous said...

@Anon 19:06

The issue is that the general public would understand 'junior doctor' to mean someone working in a hospital after finishing their degree.

ie someone who had experience of the life of a junior doctor. Working. In a hospital. In a country which will have this new contract.

Dalby has none of this.

He's done a medical degree, he's *registered* as a FY1 in order to proceed to those vocational training years, but he doesn't appear to have done so yet.

He can use the title junior doctor on an absolute technically (and only just).

It's like inviting someone on TV to talk about what it's like being a student, when actually they've just finished their A-levels, are registered as a student, but haven't even made it to freshers week yet as they're still on their gap yah!

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately the description of a FY1 doctor is wholly inaccurate. They are exactly the overstretched frontline staff who will be screwed over by the contract. They most certainly do not just sit around watching consultants do stuff, and in fact speaking from personal experience probably don't sit down very much at all, or indeed get time to eat, drink or use the toilet.

Anonymous said...

I'm sure the Conservatives are upset that Dr Shipman was caught? He would have been the perfect candidate to speak up as a qualified Dr.......!

ColinCowpat said...

This government have previous form too - having Iain Duncan-Smith comment on an unapolegetic Latvian benefits scrounger who turned out to be a Russian Model hired for the article in The Sun. To be greeted by a very active "Mr and Mrs Angry, Nationalistic comments everywhere" blog (with the comments pointing out the models profile page routinely plucked out). If Cameron is supposed to be from a PR background, he's bring both his Government and his profession into disrepute.

See the bottom of this piece: http://www.ianwaring.com/2014/04/01/the-rise-rise-of-a1-internet-fuelled-journalism/

Anonymous said...

They are qualified but not fully registered to practice under GMC. So they are under senior supervision for a year after uni.

ugm6hr said...

That depends on whether you hold an honorary contract as a junior doctor in the NHS. Being a junior doctor requires you to work as a junior doctor. Being a medical graduate qualifies you as a doctor; junior and senior are defined as those working in posts in those capacities. It is not clear Dalby has ever worked as a junior doctor.

Anonymous said...

Yes but as an FY1 I definitely did not "sit in" on anyone's clinics - I was seeing my own patients in early pregnancy clinics, assessing whether patients were fit for surgery, doing nightshifts looking after sick patients, managing unwell patients in the acute medical unit... I was working, and I was a doctor. I reported to senior colleagues, but there were some days when I didn't see any and just phoned them if I had a problem. I had a supervisor - every level of junior doctor does. I had to prove I was competent at various tasks, but I did have some level of responsibility for looking after patients.
Your description is wildly inaccurate. The people "sitting in" on clinics are medical students, or occasionally a junior doctor on an odd training day if their busy rota allows. Please correct your post as it is misleading.