Invited to the General Medical Council annual conference today, where not only was I treated with absolute respect, but those I spoke with interested in what I had to say - a lesson to be learnt by some of the organisations trying to silence me, who are of course scared of me for that very reason
Quite serendipitously, whilst admiring the building’s architecture from the top of a stunning spiral staircase yesterday, I came face to face with General Medical Council (GMC) CEO Charlie Massey as he ascended the stairs.
I recognised him immediately, and when I introduced myself - with a flash of my ID tag, I was surprised when he said that he didn't know who I was, because I'd sent him detailed and lengthy emails, in 2020 and 2021!
He said he hoped that I hadn’t been offended when he hadn’t replied (I told him I was!), because his CE office deals with emails sent to the CEO address, and these are forwarded to the relevant departments to deal with - this explained a lot!
I told him that I had frequently and publicly criticised the GMC, and, like many other people, consider the organisation not fit for purpose. He wasn’t offended, and gave me his complete attention. (Lovely blue eyes!)
We probably talked for about ten minutes, and Charlie was generous with this time, as I'd waylaid him en route to one of the halls for a speech, and his waiting staff were looking anxious, obviously wanting to drag him away, but not daring to interrupt.
I had expected to meet resistance, even hostility, as I did from the The Royal College of Ophthalmologists.*
But to the contrary, I was impressed with Charlie’s willingness to take on board what I said, and his receptiveness to my criticisms.
One of these being my concern that the GMC regularly instructs entirely unsuitable medical experts to report on refractive cases, responsible for so many complaints being closed over the years (mine included), without any action taken against the surgeons, who are free to go on and damage more patients without fear of repercussions.
I quoted a perfect example, pointing out why I believe it was entirely thanks to the diligence of the case examiners that the surgeon concerned was eventually referred to a Fitness to Practise hearing (I promise you'll hear about this very soon!)
Charlie had told me that he doesn’t personally get involved with FtP cases to avoid bias, but I advised that he might want to familiarise himself with this one, as the GMC will be under fire when the press get hold of the history.
In a relatively short time I was able to cover a lot of ground, and am assured that Charlie will keep his word, that he intends to read my emails and look into what we'd discussed.
My job done, I decided that I might as well leave, but kicked myself for not having had a photo taken with him, so I walked back into the main room and waited until he came out of the hall…
Dashing past me Charlie readily agreed, but said after he'd visited the little boys room, explaining that because he’d stopped to talk to me earlier he hadn’t had time before he went into the hall - ouch!
It really was a pleasure to meet Charlie Massey, and I hope that, like the GOC are doing, the GMC will reconsider their handling of refractive complaints in the future.
*Having been appointed lay adviser to the Refractive Surgery Standards Working Group in 2016, I was subsequently kicked off the panel at the behest of Optical Express boss David Moulsdale, his fellow Scot Professor Carrie MacEwen then RCOphth president, who yesterday tried to ignore me, but as she walked by, unable to avoid acknowledging my sweet smile with people looking on, she bared her teeth in the vague semblance of a smile (grimace?).
#blindedonthehighstreet #stormsasha