In April 2015, I wrote to the BMA. Obviously, one wouldn't expect a pointless little tacky trade union to reply back like a decent ethical organisation. The BMA likes its members money but gets cramp when they need to do anything remotely constructive. I suppose the only time they did fizz around was when Dr Shipman found himself in hot water. I guess for their efforts, the Attorney General slapped their wrists. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/628158.stm . Ofcourse, one must never forget their overt support for Viagra. Perhaps it made up for the impotence in their representation. In April 2015, I was interested to see if the tin pot tent in London had any organisational learning after the whistleblowing reviews. We must see whether the recommendations made by the powers can be workable or implemented. Dr Chand OBE, CBE King of India and England etc, another posh Asian GP once asked me to join the BMA tent and insisted I shouldn't be wallowing outside. There were no free samosas from Ambala sweet centre on offer in the usual senior Asian doctors decadent vacuous dinner parties. There were certainly no offers to apologise for the spectacularly flawed representation the BMA were responsible for. I therefore politely declined and he didn't take the idea that we should have a new trade union well at all. What is wrong with a new trade union then? Is the BMA afraid that they will lose their grip? One can move on but one can never forget. Some of us worked hard to get through medical school only for the flawed systems to betray us. The BMA once referred to me as a pain in the backside in their notes. It is a shame they did not refund me my entire membership fees then. As a trade union, they failed me. Mind you, they fail most junior doctors. Ofcourse, its easy for these people to blame the junior doctor not themselves. In the BMA world, there is no reflective learning. It's just a tent of senior doctors who never do anything much for junior doctors apart from bleat away. It has its boring unimaginative comic magazine that peddles the establishment issues while banning rebellious ideas so there is no progress. The net result is a bad environment for the younger generation. We may all be called disaffected or people with axes to grind. The reality though is this, trade unions treating people badly get bad write ups. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Doctors deserve better. I deserved better. We all deserved better. Just that the BMA has lacked insight for centuries and continues to do so because they can. It is because senior doctors pander to them and junior doctors cannot see how to exist without them. Its as if they must all be attached to the mothership whether its good or bad. Its time to cut the umbilical cord and create a new union. The sooner doctors realise this, the sooner their lives will be better. Here is my recent letter. Their lack of response demonstrates it all. Dear Sirs, The BMA was my trade union in 1998. Your representation of me was not perfect. Nevertheless, I believe it is important that the BMA does have an opportunity to represent my interests as a whistleblower given the recommendations made in the Health Select Committee as well as the Francis Report. Ref http://www.penningtons.co.uk/news-publications/latest-news/health-select-committee-report-criticises-nhs-for-failure-to-protect-whistleblowers/ My records will detail the fact that I raised evidence based concerns about North Staffordshire NHS Trust in 1998. I was a PRHO at the time. The representation from the BMA was far from adequate which is why I had no alternative but to go along with what the Trust subsequently did. I was removed from my job and placed in General Practice for a number of months. My pay was cut at the time placing me at great detriment. This was not challenged by yourselves at the time. Anyhow, with hard work, I managed to extract the reports and evidence that vindicated me. The reports are listed here https://sites.google.com/site/ward87whistleblower/ I would therefore be grateful if the BMA would 1. Obtain the rest of my pay that was cut unilaterally and unlawfully. 2. Obtain monetary compensation as recommended by the HSC recently for the detriment caused to me. 3. Obtain an apology from the Trust or an acknowledgment of my role as whistleblower. I believe this is the least the BMA can do given the detriment caused to me and the damage done to my medical career. It is certainly the recommendation by the HSC. Many thanks Dr Rita Pal http://about.me/dr.ritapal www.drritapal.com