ADDRESS BY DR RORY HAFFORD
AT THE ASSOCIATION'S 16TH AGM

SIXTEEN years ago, a little baby was born - a baby with some unique and valuable traits.

For instance, it was never afraid to tell the truth, to expose injustice and to fight for what it believed was right and fair.

That baby was the AGP. That injustice was withholding tax.

The good fight was fought and, more importantly, it was won. A few committed, hardy souls joined up which ensured that the baby grew and developed.

A quick glance around the room and you'll see that some of that number are still amongst us. The passion and the drive still burns. But, in my opinion, the Association has plateaued somewhat.

The Irish have a peculiar psychological trait hotwired into their brain - and it can be summed up thus: ah sure, I'm alright!

It's a complacency that is deadly. It's a narrow view that blinkers us to the big picture and our place in it.

And here is the big picture…General Practice, like so many other professions, is under siege. It's under siege from a government that has lost the run of itself; from a government that is hell-bent on waging war on the little guy; from a government that has turned the principle of zero tolerance into a sinister practice.

General Practice is that little guy.

Do you think, for one minute, that any other doctors union is going to stand in the way of the bullets that are about to fly to protect you? Not a chance. In the great scheme of things, General Practice is small potatoes.

Like sisters, it's up to us to start doing it for ourselves. And the AGP is the proper forum - the only forum - that will be successful in looking after GPs specifically.

Here's a little paradox to ponder: change is constant! But if you stand still long enough you will be swallowed whole by change; and that little baby that showed so much courage and fight will die.

This is a testing time for the Association. We can stand up here and spout a whole ream of empty platitudes, all designed to send out the message: sure, aren't we great fellas!

Or we can get real!

Real is right now. Real is not being able to refer a patient safe in the knowledge that they will be seen. Real is the constant battle busy GPs have just to get the most basic of help in the safe running of their surgery.

Real is this: the withholding tax was only the start of it…they'll be back!

The appointment of a CEO does a number of very positive things for the AGP.

First off, it's a hugely proactive step that sends out the message that the AGP is not prepared to be a one-hit wonder. That the AGP is not prepared to rest on its laurels. It will also serve to rattle the cages of the people who refused to rattle them for us. I have talked to doctors the length and breadth of the country and found the same story: 'no-one seems to care'.

With this appointment, the AGP is sending out the message that WE care. So let's signpost the way forward.

What's happening in many areas of medicine today is an injustice and the way you fight an injustice is to expose it.

The more unjust it is, the more you expose it. We have to be highly active in the media. We have to learn how to use it.

If there is something about medicine that needs to be highlighted, we have to be the ones shining the light into the dark corners. And here's why: because the opinion of the AGP matters.

We also need to develop a role in education. Where I live, the local chiropodist earns more than the local GP (on a good day!)

Maybe it's time we responded to the changing market-place by looking at treatment 'ad-ons' like acupuncture, homeopathy and nutritional medicine.

Above all, we need to increase the membership of the association. And how do we do that?

It's simple, really…by being more relevant in the lives and work of Irish GPs than any organization has ever been. From a personal point of view, I consider it a great privilege to have been asked to join the ranks of this sleeping giant.

It's time to wake the baby!

Visitors

©2008 All Rights Reserved.   Website Design: Ambit Ireland