HOW would you feel if you had never been ticked off by your boss – and came home one day to find a letter of dismissal lying on your doorstep?
Quite angry, I suppose. But then you do not work for the National Health Service – or for managers who are under pressure from government targets.
Roughly, this is what happened to a senior eye doctor in a case I covered for two weeks at a Bloomsbury industrial tribunal.
Judgment is being reserved by the panel chaired by a charming, quiet-spoken lawyer, Stephen Besseau.
So it would be unfair to go into the nuances of the case. But it took me into the hidden world at the famous Barts Hospital – and from the evidence given in court, life for doctors can be pretty unpleasant.
In the past year or so, accusations have been made against the NHS of racial discrimination by senior doctors, many of them known as ‘Staff Grades’ – a post below that of a consultants.
There are thousands of ‘staff grades’ in the NHS, many of them Asians. They are known as the “work horses” in the profession – men and women who can always be relied on to mop up waiting lists and make life easier for their higher paid consultant colleagues. Many of them believe they suffer from a restrictive policy preventing them from becoming consultants even though they may well be qualified to hold such an exalted post.
Nor do they earn all that much. The doctor at the centre of the tribunal case earned £49,000 a year – not much when you consider the lives of patients are in his hands. Pen-pushing hospital managers or other civil servants can earn considerably more than that. Yet who has the more responsible job?
Often, disgruntled ‘staff grades’ feel the colour of their skin is the bar to promotion.
Naturally, you’ll never find a consultant who’d admit to such bigotry. We live and work in a multicultural society, don’t we?
But not a few cases of racial discrimination have been taken against hospitals by Asian doctors in the past few years – and resentment is growing.
A lead letter in Saturday’s Daily Telegraph from Dinesh Verma, an eminent eye doctor, accused the medical establishment of “institutional racism” though he was concerned about the treatment of ‘staff and associate specialists’, again, it seems, another form of “work horse” exploited by the NHS.
Sitting in the canteen at the end of a day in court a prominent eye specialist, unhappy with the top-heavy pile of managers employed by the NHS, pulled a sheath of papers out of his brief-case and slipped them conspiratorially across the table. “Just look” he said. He pointed to a diagram showing the management tiers in the ‘head and neck’ department of Barts.
He said: “Do you realise there are more than 30 senior managers in this department alone? I showed this to a member of the Cabinet office and he said that’s more than we have? Can you imagine that?”.
I left the tribunal case wondering whether the billions of pounds Gordon Brown has poured into the NHS has simply gone into the creation of more and more layers of managers.

IT was a case of From Russia with Love for swimmers campaigning to save the Heath pond on Monday, when a young Russian architect flew in from Moscow especially to lend his support.
Kirill Zavrazhin, 29, who lived in digs in Queen’s Crescent, Kentish Town, three years ago, was a regular swimmer at both the Lido and the Men’s pond and was horrified to read about Corporation plans to close the ponds on the New Journal website.
Currently involved in the design of the first underwater world park in Russia, (Moscow, Kusckovopark) he says it will definitely feature a free pond, in the great tradition of the Heath. “Hampstead Heath has inspired my work and probably always will,” he told me.

Is actor Clive getting closer to his first Oscar?

IT’S a notoriously risky business but tomorrow never dies for some actors – as Clive Owen proved on Friday.
At the ripe old age of 40, the ex-Chancer star is currently in the running for his first-ever Oscar – as best supporting actor – for the film Closer, scripted by former comedian-turned-playwright, Patrick Marber.
Both men were at a special screening of the film at the Screen on the Hill in Belsize Park on Friday, followed by a question and answer session with the capacity audience.
Mr Owen said that working with legendary Hollywood director Mike Nichols – famous for the Graduate amongst other films – was “mind-blowing”.
Working with Patrick Marber’s “sparky, intelligent, dialogue, was a privilege”, he said. And he played down his Oscar nomination for the film, also featuring Julia Roberts, Jude Law and Natalie Portman – nominated for best supporting actress – saying it was very much an ensemble piece.
But he denied reports that he was in the running for 007 in the next Bond film. Ironically, he is the same age as the legendary film series, which also celebrated its 40th anniversary last year.
Asked whether we should take out bets on him getting the part, his answer, “Keep your money”.

A dog’s life for Alastair

HE’S known as a political bulldog and has a reputation of getting his own way.
But I can reveal there is one person who can run rings round Alastair Campbell. The Labour Party election strategist has a well-known dislike of dogs – but his daughter Grace, 10, has managed to persuade him to let a four legged friend into their Gospel oak home.
“She really, really wanted one,” he explained.
“I don’t like them – but after awhile I had to give in.”
So they are now the proud owners of a four-and-a-half month old King Charles Spaniel called Molly.
But having a dog and walking it are two different things entirely. Considering Alastair likes to run when he takes to the Heath, you would expect him to take it for some muddy jaunts.
But he admits it’s down to his partner, columnist Fiona Millar, to do the honours.
“I take her out each day,’” she tells me.
Pictured: Alastair Campbell and his partner, Fiona Millar’s mother, Audrey at Burgh House on Thursday.

Make a meal of it

A WELCOMING party of citizens is expected to line up outside the swanky Pont de la Tour restaurant in Kilburn High Road this evening (Thursday) to meet members of the Kilburn ‘regeneration’ quango before they tuck into slap up meal.
The delicate question of who should foot the bill for the last meal took weeks to settle. Eventually, board members had to cough up for the £500 bill. Graham Francis Bacon, the campaigner who brought irregularities in the administration of the fund to the attention of auditors, has been picturing the scene. He said: “Will they have the report as a starter or will they wait for the desserts? My money is on between the antipasta and the fish dish.”