NHS chief must direct that time overseas is an asset

doi:10.1136/bmj.39176.433484.3A

BMJ 2007;334:761-762 (14 April), doi:10.1136/bmj.39176.433484.3A

Letters

Global partnership

NHS chief must direct that time overseas is an asset

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Rapid responses on 30 March to the editorial on global healthpartnerships produced something special: a letter from the chiefexecutive of the Medical Research Council and president of theAcademy of Medical Sciences, followed by three letters fromcoalface workers showing the disastrous effects of ModernisingMedical Careers (MMC) as they are experiencing it.¹ ² This clusterfollows letters from the major UK overseas research institutions,³all the tropical medicine schools, and Médecins sansFrontières (MSF UK).²

Blakemore and Bell call for mobility between Britain and therest of the world for clinicians while maintaining their careersecurity, and they cite calls for the same thing from others.But in a giant organisation like the NHS "calling for" countsfor nothing, even if the call comes from the prime ministeror the chief medical officer. Middle managers spend their daystrying to discover what they are being directed to do . . . [Full text of this article]

Ed Cooper, retired paediatrician

London N4

edcooper@doctors.org.uk