Viva Las Vegas!

Well done to the BBC Midlands journalist who has uncovered this disgusting state of affairs. Apparently, eight eye specialist doctors from the 'debt-ridden' Wolverhampton Eye Infirmary have gone to Las Vegas of all places, and some clinics and operations have been cancelled. What heartless bastards! The BBC regional news managed to underline just how immoral this is by showing library footage of someone in the West Midlands who couldn't see properly (although that had nothing to do with ophthalmic surgery).

The reporter has also revealed that the trip was 'all expenses' paid. The fact that all but £2000 pounds of these expenses were paid by the doctors themselves and outside sponsorship is just being 'all technical'. Apparently, the conference they are attending was booked a year ago, and will be attended by the up to 5,000 top eye specialists from around the world. It is reasonable to assume that these freeloaders will be sharing with each other all the latest research and techniques known to science, indeed one of the Wolverhampton doctors will be making a major presentation of research carried out in their hospital.

The news watching public sat aghast as they were shown the website for the conference hosted by the ridiculously pompously titled ‘American Academy of Ophthalmology’, and they saw the list of activities that Las Vegas offers the traveller. Heaven forbid the doctors might actually have a bit of spare time in the evening. How dare they enjoy themselves when there are still people back at home who can’t see properly? Dr Informed can’t put his own hair down unless he is happy that every single one of his patients is healthy, and safely tucked up in bed at night.

It is fortunate that the journalist in question did not reveal that doctors have a quota of 'study leave' that they are expected to take, each year in order to keep themselves up to date for the benefit of their patients, because that might have engendered some sympathy for these heartless leeches on the NHS. I also applaud the way in which a local public-service union representative was given the chance to be angry about it all on camera, as this added extra balance to the piece.

Dr Informed finds that the concept of doctors engaging in cutting edge research and the world scientific community leaves him 'All Shook Up', especially if it involves a cost of £2000 to a well managed and funded hospital that is debt-ridden because doctors have been spending some of the money on patients. However, a week without clinic and operating should save the trust a bit of cash, so there's a faint light at the end of this particularly long, dark tunnel.

Thangyamuch. Dr Informed has left the building.