In a poignant twist of fate, a retired obstetrician with five decades of service has found himself on the other side of the NHS, experiencing firsthand the strains that have driven junior doctors to prolong their industrial action. John Cullimore, who dedicated his life to medicine, recently awoke in hospital after a health scare, an event that has profoundly shifted his perspective on the ongoing disputes within the health service.
A Personal Health Crisis Illuminates Systemic Issues
John Cullimore, a former consultant in obstetrics and gynaecology, retired three years ago after a distinguished 50-year career. His return to the NHS was unexpected, occurring not as a practitioner but as a patient in urgent need. When he developed severe chest pains, initially dismissed as a muscle strain from lifting a heavy piano keyboard, the situation escalated rapidly. The pain intensified, making even shallow breathing agonising, prompting an early morning call to his GP.
Thanks to a perceptive receptionist and a responsive doctor, Cullimore was swiftly diagnosed with bilateral pulmonary emboli and admitted to an acute cardiac unit. The clinicians were excellent, he acknowledges, crediting the NHS with saving his life through skill and dedication. However, this life-saving intervention unfolded against the backdrop of scheduled strike action by resident doctors, casting a shadow over his recovery and prompting deeper reflection.
The Changing Face of Medical Care and Training
During his hospital stay, Cullimore encountered an institution that felt starkly different from the one he joined as a young doctor. The admission process was nurse-led, involving observations, cannulation, blood tests, and an extensive electronic questionnaire on a handheld device. Questions about abuse, dementia, and mental health, which he never asked patients in 1978, are now routine. No pens, no paper, everything tapped onto a screen, he notes, highlighting a shift towards a more procedural and fragmented system.
In his era, much of this work fell to house officers – doctors embedded in wards, forming close bonds with nurses, patients, and consultants. Today, foundation doctors, in their first two postgraduate years, often work shifts, live off-site, and appear transient, lacking the deep integration into hospital life that once defined early careers. Cullimore observes that tasks like blood draws and administrative duties, which once embedded junior doctors in the hospital structure, are now handled by others, potentially eroding their sense of belonging and purpose.
Understanding the Strike: A Crisis of Identity and Support
The resident doctors’ decision to continue striking for another six months, amid disputes over pay and job conditions, resonates with Cullimore’s experiences. He now understands why foundation doctors show strong support for the industrial action. These junior medics are newly qualified, not yet committed to a specialty, and navigating a system that offers less clarity in their roles. During recent strikes, senior staff covered their work, cancelling elective activities, which raises questions about how well-defined these early positions are and whether the current structure serves doctors or patients effectively.
Cullimore reflects on his own training, where medical apprenticeships involved attachment to nursing teams, performing hands-on tasks like feeding and moving patients, and working punishing schedules of up to 106 hours a week within close-knit clinical firms. This fostered identity, loyalty, and a sense of calling. In contrast, today’s juniors may find cohesion more in public solidarity, such as chanting outside hospitals during strikes, than in institutional bonds – a concerning trend for the profession’s future.
Small Details and Broader Implications
Beyond clinical care, Cullimore noticed smaller details that hint at broader systemic challenges. He received decent, free food but pondered why it might be heretical to suggest contributions from patients who can afford it, especially when many pay over £4 for coffee in hospital cafes. After being discharged clinically, he waited hours for pharmacy services to re-label his medications, and a minor mix-up with a forgotten charger underscored both inefficiencies and the system’s residual functionality.
The NHS saved my life, Cullimore reiterates, but the institution he returned to is not the one he knew. It feels more procedural, fragmented, and less rooted in the mutual obligations that once made medicine a calling rather than just a job. He argues that rebuilding a sense of belonging from the first day of training is as crucial as addressing contracts and pay. Without this, the six-month strike vote may be remembered not merely as an industrial dispute but as a symptom of a profession losing its way, risking the long-term commitment of doctors to the health service.
