Situations

One of the doctors I have to work with is incompetent. She is lazy, work-shy and not fit to look after patients on her own without close supervision.

I have been gently warned by my seniors, in no uncertain terms, that if I bring this up with the consultant, not only will nothing change but I will also then be regarded as a trouble-maker and someone who is "not a team player". I have tried speaking politely to the doctor in question but have made no progress. I will be switching to another ward in a couple of weeks, and do not have to work with this doctor again after today, but nevertheless I am concerned (and so are the nurses) that her laziness is affecting patient care. She only sees the patients who are well and leaves the ill or complicated ones to other people. This results in her colleagues (i.e. me) getting stressed and annoyed, and more importantly means that the ill patients suffer. Unfortunately I was only born with two arms, two legs and one brain so I cannot do everything on my own all of the time.

In an ideal word, a senior would take her aside, have a strong word, and then re-assess her performance after a week. If there was no improvement, she would be relieved of her duties and one of the many unemployed junior doctors in this country would fill her place and do a very good job. The reality - my immediate senior is not doing anything, if I bypass him and go to the consultant it will negatively affect my career, the doctor in question will continue to be crap, the patients will continue to suffer, and the unemployed doctor will remain unemployed. I am not choosing the correct course of action ethically but the NHS is screwing me over enough and I am not prepared to give them another stick to beat me with. I am going to enjoy my week off next week, come back and do a few days and then switch to the next ward, leaving this incompetent idiot to swan around and get all her boxes ticked in order that she can progress up her career ladder.

One day she will be taken to court.

I have a good friend who spoke out loudly in a vaguely similar situation and the NHS spat him out like a bad olive - he is now unemployed and unable to find work because the previous employer will not issue a reference. He is arguably a more ethical person than I am, but I would not swap positions. Does that make me selfish? What about the patients who may suffer at the hands of my incompetent colleague? Is my inaction putting them at risk? Are they more important than me? In my opinion, my family, loved ones and friends come first, then me, THEN everyone else. Fuck this incompetent doctor and fuck the system that allows her to continue to work. It is not my fault and I will not stick my head up above the crowd to have it chopped off. Any number of doctors or nurses could complain, but it seems to have come to the point where it is either me or no-one. I would value the opinions of the panel.