The New Year's Eve Ishmael

  "Ring Out, Wild Bells"  by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1850

 Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,

The flying cloud, the frosty light:

The year is dying in the night;

Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,

Ring, happy bells, across the snow:

The year is going, let him go;

Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind

For those that here we see no more;

Ring out the feud of rich and poor,

Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,

And ancient forms of party strife;

Ring in the nobler modes of life,

With sweeter manners, purer laws.

Ring out the want, the care, the sin,

The faithless coldness of the times;

Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes

But ring the fuller minstrel in.

Ring out false pride in place and blood,

The civic slander and the spite;

Ring in the love of truth and right,

Ring in the common love of good.

Ring out old shapes of foul disease;

Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;

Ring out the thousand wars of old,

Ring in the thousand years of peace.

Ring in the valiant man and free,

The larger heart, the kindlier hand;

Ring out the darkness of the land,

Ring in the Christ that is to be.

Talking of foul disease, the remuneration for G.P.s is so complex  it requires an explanatory book of hundreds of pages. It is basically a system of piece work and expenses. They do not think they are paid enough and their trade union, the BMA, had attempted to negotiate a 14% pay rise; therefore they are most disappointed in the above-inflation 3.9% increase, which will come into force in April 2021. Until then, the average GP net income is £54,220 plus indirect expenses of £24,510 and directly reimbursed expenses averaging just over £60,000, totalling £139,000 on average .

The other 2.6 million public sector workers, including teachers and police are not getting a pay rise. The Chancellor, Ritchie Rich has given them a pay freeze. Again. No doubt they would be delighted to be offered the GP percentage increase. As a reminder, and for comparison purposes, the national average annual wage in the U.K. is £29,600 and the National Living Wage is £8.72 pence per hour.

60% of the GP fee scale comprises:

• A standard payment for each patient on a GP's list;
• A registration fee for taking on new patients;
• Fees for child health checks;
• A supplement paid to GPs working in deprived areas;
• A similar payment made to GPs working in rural areas.

Other fees include:

• Seniority payments - paid to long-serving doctors;
• Education allowance;
• Payments to take on assistant doctors;
• Payments to the practice to recognise local needs or start-up costs;
• Payments to fund cover when the surgery is closed;
• Payments for providing health promotion services, and other incentive payments The rest of the fee scale is made up of piece work, including:

• Minor surgery fees;
• Night visit fees;
• Payments for providing contraceptive services;
• Maternity service payments.

On the 06/11/2020 it was announced that GPs will be paid £12.58 per Covid vaccination jab administered and, to add insult to injury, on the 30th December we learned that GPS are to receive an additional payment of £10 for every care home resident they vaccinate against Covid. Thank goodness our GPS are a fine, altruistic body of men and women, all with a strong sense of vocation. God knows how much they'd cost us if they were in it for the money.