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UK doctors involved in climate protests face threat of being struck off


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The intersection of activism and professional responsibilities has come to the fore as several UK doctors involved in climate protests face the threat of being struck off from practicing medicine. Dr. Sarah Benn, a GP near Birmingham, found herself embroiled in this dilemma after her involvement in climate activism led to a series of criminal convictions. Despite her transparency about these convictions, she now faces a tribunal by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) to determine her fitness to practice.

 

Benn's case is not isolated, as other doctors, like Dr. Patrick Hart from Bristol, have also been targeted for their activism. Hart, who received a suspended prison sentence for his involvement in climate protests, rejected warnings from the GMC and faces a tribunal as well. This situation raises questions about the boundaries between personal beliefs, activism, and professional obligations for medical practitioners.

 

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While the GMC asserts that doctors have the right to hold personal political opinions and engage in activism, a custodial sentence following a criminal conviction mandates referral to the MPTS. This process, designed to assess a doctor's fitness to practice independently of the GMC, has now become a battleground where the activism of medical professionals is scrutinized.

 

For Benn and Hart, their activism is deeply intertwined with their roles as healthcare providers. They see themselves as trusted messengers in addressing the existential threat posed by the climate crisis. Benn, in particular, hopes that the GMC will recognize the importance of her actions and develop guidance for the medical profession on activism.

 

However, the looming threat of losing their professional licenses hangs over them, casting a shadow on their future as doctors. Despite this, both Benn and Hart remain steadfast in their belief that activism has enhanced their ability to practice medicine with compassion and a long-term perspective.

 

Their cases highlight the evolving dynamics between professional responsibilities and advocacy in the medical field. As the climate crisis intensifies, the role of healthcare professionals in addressing societal issues becomes increasingly significant, raising important questions about the limits and responsibilities of activism within the medical profession.

 

17.03.24

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1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said:

IMO parading around in a shirt saying "just stop oil" marks one as an idiot, and if any doctors think that is a sensible thing they are suspect of being too stupid to practice.

 

Imagine if their wish came true and oil stopped tomorrow. By Christmas most of human life would have ended, given that oil is used to grow most of the food we eat, and make the medicine they prescribe.

Please don't grow your food in oil. That's not gonna be healthy to eat. 

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20 minutes ago, Dolf said:

"Modern health care relies on petroleum products that have few substitutes. Plastics are used in a wide-range of medical devices and petrochemicals are relied on for pharmaceuticals. Products include hospital equipment, IV bags, aspirin, antihistamines, artificial limbs, dentures, hearing aids, heart valves and many more."

 

https://www.capp.ca/oil/uses-for-oil/

Yep, lots of valuable products made from oil.

 

Every drop burned can’t be put to those good uses.

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21 minutes ago, Dolf said:

"Modern health care relies on petroleum products that have few substitutes. Plastics are used in a wide-range of medical devices and petrochemicals are relied on for pharmaceuticals. Products include hospital equipment, IV bags, aspirin, antihistamines, artificial limbs, dentures, hearing aids, heart valves and many more."

 

https://www.capp.ca/oil/uses-for-oil/

That's the problem. 

 

We need to find alternatives to oil 

 

Anyway they amount tod oil used in these medical things is insignificant compared to the environmental impacts of oil used for fuel, for example.

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5 minutes ago, jak2002003 said:

That's the problem. 

 

We need to find alternatives to oil 

 

Anyway they amount tod oil used in these medical things is insignificant compared to the environmental impacts of oil used for fuel, for example.

The main thing ATM is stopping the subsidies to the oil industry.

 

https://www.imf.org/en/Blogs/Articles/2023/08/24/fossil-fuel-subsidies-surged-to-record-7-trillion

Edited by stevenl
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Just now, Chomper Higgot said:

Me thinks the GMC is digging a hole it needs to get out of.

 

First step, stop digging.

 

 

Or stop drilling for oil hey.

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Pity they cant give you an appointment for 3  weeks too busy protesting I  guess, friend in  the UK recently hurt his leg  falling off his push bike, it got swollen after a few  days, tried to book an appointment......3  weeks  later  finally saw a doctor who  sent him to A&E, 25 hours on a hard  chair then transferred to a reclining chair  with drip in  until got a bed then 6 days in hospital where they almost amputated  his  leg.

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55 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

I thought medical school and exams were the means to determine if someone has the smarts to be a doctor..

some of the smartest people I know couldnt cross the road. I used to work for a lot of them years  ago. Professors lovely people but  yeah .......

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