Doctors call for final vote on Brexit

Doctors are accused of ignoring the will of their patients by calling for a vote on the final Brexit deal

  • Jacob Rees Mogg has blasted medics who called for a vote on any Brexit deal 
  • He accused them of ignoring the will on their patients using ‘doctor knows best’  
  • Delegates at a British Medical Association conference have called for a new vote
  • Medics claim the Government’s Brexit plans are a danger to their patients  

Doctors have been accused of ignoring the will of their patients by calling for a vote on the final Brexit deal.

Medics have called for the public to have a final vote on the deal, claiming Britain’s departure from the EU poses a ‘major threat’ to health.

They claimed Brexit could damage the NHS and patient care.

Jacob Rees Mogg, pictured, blasted Britain’s medical profession following the BMA’s demand for a final vote of Brexit. The Tory hardline Eurosceptic said: ‘They are failing to trust their patients and falling into the doctor-knows-best trap’

Tory Eurosceptics said they should focus on their patients and the future of the NHS rather than meddling in politics.

MP Andrew Bridgen said the motion by the British Medical Association ignored what patients had already voted for.

‘The old adage is not true – doctors don’t always know best,’ he said. ‘We’ve had a referendum, the result was clear and we haven’t implemented the results of that yet.

‘Once we’ve left, if the doctors or anyone else want to campaign to get us back in, I’ll wish them all the best but I’ll be opposing them.I think they should get on with reforming the NHS. They need to be talking about that and giving better value for money, not Brexit. They are supposed to listen to their patients and it’s what the majority of their patients voted for.’


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Jacob Rees-Mogg MP said the vote showed doctors have no confidence in their patients. He added: ‘They are failing to trust their patients and falling into the doctor-knows-best trap.’

The motion passed at the British Medical Association’s annual conference in Brighton called to oppose Brexit as a whole, support the UK remaining in the single market, and publicly state concerns that Brexit ‘poses a major threat to the NHS and the nation’s health’.

It also said the BMA should ‘support the idea of the public having a final say on the Brexit deal, now that more is known regarding the potential impact of Brexit on the NHS and the nation’s health’.

But Dr Robert Harwood, chairman of the BMA consultants’ committee, warned a ‘hard-edged’ political opinion on Brexit could mean the organisation was isolated from the debate.

The Royal College of Nursing and Royal College of Midwives have also recently supported calls for the public to have a final say on Brexit.

A BMA spokesman said: ‘Doctors have made it clear that they are worried that Brexit could seriously undermine the provision of healthcare in the UK and Europe. The challenges posed by Brexit are considerable and, though there has been some progress, there is too much uncertainty around what the implications will be.’

She added: ‘Though concerns were raised prior to the Brexit vote, no one could have imagined the extent of the complications such a result would bring.

‘However, in light of what we know now, it is imperative that the public has a say in any proposed Brexit deal.’

Stop ogling us online, say ‘hot’ GPs 

Doctors have complained they are being ogled online by patients who post video consultations on social media while bragging how ‘hot’ they are.

Growing numbers of patients are sharing videos and photographs on Facebook and Twitter – with some posts being viewed hundreds of thousands of times. Some criticise doctors for ‘terrible appointments’ while others remarked on the person’s looks.

GPs say it is leaving them exposed to ‘comments and ridicule’ and have called for sanctions against patients.

Dr Zoe Greaves, a trainee doctor who raised the motion, told the British Medical Association’s annual meeting in Brighton she had heard of doctors being objectified. Research has shown that only about a third of the content of a consultation is remembered by patients, so they are allowed to use recordings. But doctors say there is insufficient guidance to ensure this is not used in the wrong way.

Yesterday, a quick search showed several examples, with one person who had taken a picture of a doctor posting on Instagram: ‘When you [are] perving on your doctors #hotdoctors.’

Dr Greaves added: ‘If we are to recognise patients’ rights to make recordings for their own private use then there must be recognised responsibilities alongside that right.’

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