Knowledge and Competence

Yesterday the Tory Health Secretary Victoria Atkins launched a bitter and ignorant attack on Junior Doctors, diminishing their medical experience by describing them as "doctors in training" as if they're not properly qualified doctors. The reality, of course, is that Junior Doctor is the term for a fully qualified doctor who is doing a 2 year clinical foundation, or has not specialised yet, meaning they're supervised by consultants in their area of practice. If Victoria Atkins was really concerned about medically unqualified people within the NHS, perhaps she should look at the Tory Department of Health, including herself and her junior ministers.

Victoria Atkins, herself, worked as a barrister before becoming a career politician. She has no medical qualifications.

Junior health minister, Helen Whatley, did a couple of years of management consultancy and then a stint at the Internet dinosaur AOL before becoming a career politician. She claims to have volunteered at NHS hospitals in her youth, but has no medical qualifications.

Junior health minister, Andrew Stephenson, was an insurance broker before becoming a career politician. He has no medical qualifications.

Junior health minister, Andrea Leadsom, was a debt trader for Barclays Bank and then an investment banker before getting on the Tory career politician gravy train. She has no medical qualifications.

Junior health minister Nick Markham was a businessman with his fingers in a lot of pies. One of his most notable ventures was his chairmanship of Inview Technologies which went bust in 2020 costing investors over £20 million. He was parachuted into the unelected House of Lords so he could be made a junior health minister without the bother of even getting elected. He has no medical qualifications.

Of the six Tory politicians who run the Department of Health, only one has any real NHS experience. Maria Caulfield worked as an NHS nurse for a couple of decades before turning to politics.

In light of the alarming dearth of medical training and experience within the Tory-run department of health, it's a bit damned rich for Victoria Atkins to try to diminish the expertise of trained and qualified NHS doctors, isn't it? But since when has any Tory adminstration bothered with knowledge and competence as criteria for high office? Certainly not this one. Liz Truss, anyone?