Non-surgeon removed gall bladders at Walsall hospital

12 comments

1. ***The comments follow the publication of a research paper showing that 175 surgeries were carried out by an SCP at the hospital during a four-year period.***

   So not exactly an isolated incident either. God this stuff is actually getting quite terrifying. I’m already at a point where I don’t really feel like there is anything there to catch something early if I do fall sick. Now add on the worry even if you do make it to a hospital, you might wind up getting cut open and having parts of you removed by someone who isn’t even a trained medic let alone a qualified surgeon.

2. Don’t want to read the whole article. Did someone die because of this person operating? I can’t even get a GP appointment where I am .nevermind life altering procedures . We have nurses taking calls and diagnosing us with illnesses we may or may not have . So has this person done good or bad ?

3. Is it possible that you don’t need to be a doctor or complete 5 years of holistic medical school to be able to perform a single particular activity competently?

   A.k.a: *I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.*

   I get that *there is a way we have always done things* and that the Royal College of Surgeons wants to look out for their members, but they do seem to want to lock us in to a system that isn’t necessarily working.

4. As someone who has had their gallbladder removed at the time I’d have been happy with a cleaner doing it if it solved the pain.

5. Its also funny that I am asking genuine questions and being treated like a fool when trying to understand where NHS problem is. I asked an educational question. No wonder people sit alone and talk to no one when the only time they do talk and ask things they are made to feel awful,weak, uneducated, and wrong.

6. It’s not really common knowledge, but the General Medical Council’s registers are entirely open to the public. You can search for your doctor’s name and make sure they have the proper qualification you would expect.

   https://www.gmc-uk.org/registration-and-licensing/the-medical-register

7. Ok thanks you are correct I will never ask questions again

8. It’s cool I’ll even leave the group so I never ask questions or have a curious thought again . Thanks

9. The [paper](https://publishing.rcseng.ac.uk/doi/10.1308/rcsann.2023.0058?_ga=2.95004444.128984654.1715439284-960611161.1715439284) in question. It is obvious this is a person who had an aptitude which was recognised and developed. It’s probably not something that would be easily replicated with other people.

10. I had my gall bladder removed and my surgeon inspired complete confidence before the operation.

    After the operation, he told me he had to take over, when it was noticed that the main arteries into and out of my liver were in precisely the opposite place they should have been. I’ve only seen it in textbooks, he told me.

    When I asked what he meant he had to take over, he said until then it was a trainee, and I absolutely did not consent to that.

11. I’m going to comment on this having actually read the article and being an experienced emergency practitioner myself (not a doctor).
    The benefits of an SCP performing specific surgeries:
    – if the surgeries they perform are limited and specific then we are likely to see the SCP’s perform those surgeries brilliantly having practised those surgeries over and over again.
    – this provides a new avenue for an enhanced and diverse workforce to tackle the ever growing challenges facing the NHS today.
    – an SCP performing these surgeries leaves the actual surgeons open to perform emergency and more complex procedures.

    The negatives:
    – public will struggle to find confidence in this method.
    – creating safety protocols and pathways for something like this to keep patients safe will not be very easy.
    – this is not a small investment to make.
    – there is a potential that this takes away from surgeons.

    Reading the article, it appears the royal college of surgeons do not condone this and they are pissed that it was happening without them being involved. The hospital has taken a big risk to do this without approval and I suspect this decision was probably made due to financial and clinical pressures on the system.
    I understand everyone’s frustrations and fear however it appears that the surgeries actually went well and this study will be used to explore what other avenues can be taken to provide patients with the surgeries they need from people trained to do them.

12. The NHS is a Berlin-brandenburg airport disaster waiting to happen.