Phill Thomas - The Bac Man

[Otter]

Phill Thomas - The Bac Man

Ok, so here we go again.

I just did a tiny bit of research. I clicked the very first detox clinic which I could see advertising itself as a medically supervised clinic and their team includes a Doctor. Here is the link to their team: Our Treatment Team Then I searched the doctor and he is not on the GMC register. And they don't use Baclofen and they are more expensive

Maybe some of you will start to see what I am saying about the UK and the use of the word Doctor.

[tiptronic_ct]

Phill Thomas - The Bac Man

Do the staff / operators at these clinics also author their own Wikipedia entries and give themselves names such as "Dr. Baclofen"?

The longer you keep trying to make your point, the longer this will drag on.

[Otter]

Phill Thomas - The Bac Man

tiptronic_ct;1199316 wrote: Do the staff / operators at these clinics also author their own Wikipedia entries and give themselves names such as "Dr. Baclofen"?

The longer you keep trying to make your point, the longer this will drag on.

Do you mean the Wikipedia entry which he authored and says he may not practice as a doctor? This one, Tip?

Phillip Thomas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Phillip Thomas MB ChB LLB(hons) FRCS (born June 7, 1961) is an obesity surgeon and medical negligence lawyer, and now also a ghostwriter. As of October 12, 2007, Mr. Thomas is no longer on the General Medical Council Register and may not practise as a doctor in the UK.

I seem to have lost the thread of your criticism. Was it that he is a fraud because he doesn't make it clear that he may not practice as a doctor in the UK or something like that?

Hmmm....

[Otter]

Phill Thomas - The Bac Man

Your turn Tip. Let's have a bit more nastiness.

[tiptronic_ct]

Phill Thomas - The Bac Man

From the same Wikipedia page:

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page.
It may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Tagged since December 2009.
It may have been edited by a contributor who has a close connection with its subject. Tagged since December 2009.
The notability of this article's subject is in question. If notability cannot be established, it may be listed for deletion or removed. Tagged since March 2010.

Who the hell is so self-absorbed that they write their own Wikipedia entry in any event? WTF?

[tiptronic_ct]

Phill Thomas - The Bac Man

Otter;1199351 wrote: Do you mean the Wikipedia entry which he authored and says he may not practice as a doctor? This one, Tip?

Phillip Thomas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Phillip Thomas MB ChB LLB(hons) FRCS (born June 7, 1961) is an obesity surgeon and medical negligence lawyer, and now also a ghostwriter. As of October 12, 2007, Mr. Thomas is no longer on the General Medical Council Register and may not practise as a doctor in the UK.

I seem to have lost the thread of your criticism. Was it that he is a fraud because he doesn't make it clear that he may not practice as a doctor in the UK or something like that?

Hmmm....

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm indeed.

Upon closer investigation it turns out Phill did NOT volunteer the snippet of information you so kindly highlighted. Have a look at the revision history for the Wikipedia entry. It was added by someone else.

Phillip Thomas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Otter]

Phill Thomas - The Bac Man

Hmmm indeed, was that you who did that or one of the others on this site who have it in for him?

So, anyone who Googles him can find out he is not on the register. If you contact the GMC, they will tell you he is not on the register, which is what the register is for and why it is made public. In his book he says he is no longer practising as a doctor. He does not prescribe and has to work with client's doctors if he wants to deal with medical issues which is what he did with us. So people using his services would know he was not practising as a doctor because otherwise he would be prescribing.

He can call himself a doctor and work in alcohol counselling like the other doctor I showed you.

There doesn't seem to be a huge scope for people being misled. And, after all, he is actually a doctor, just not a registered one.

[Otter]

Phill Thomas - The Bac Man

I know there are other issues about him with some members. I do understand the concerns but these are not uncommon with people with alcohol problems, sadly.

He was suspended because various things he did such as not taking photos of a botox job and not responding to correspondence made it apparent that he was unfit due to alcoholism. That is the bottom line. Nothing at all to do with his expertise or knowledge. Put that one to bed.

The GMC do not have any interest in alcohol counselling because it is not treated in the UK as a medical issue but one for counselling and Phill does not and cannot prescribe.

If a doctor who is not on the register wants to get back on, then they have to keep up their medical knowledge and Phill does this by writing on Baclofen. He would be expected to do that by the GMC so again, no problem.

If the GMC were to look at this they would find he was no different from the other doctor I mentioned who is not on the register. What is more if he reapplied and showed he had recovered and had helped others recover and run a successful business then I would hope they would commend him, that is, if they have heard about Baclofen by then.

Here if you are not on the register you can call yourself a doctor; in other countries you cannot so he is legally within his rights to use that name and do counselling and if anyone here does not understand that it is because they don't understand the law not because he is doing something he cannot do.

The big issue as I see it is this. Here is someone whose life was ruined by an illness which has only now been discovered to be treatable. So, he sets about rebuilding his life and a career helping other people. And you want to demolish the man without ever having spoken to him and given him the courtesy of addressing the issues you raise.

I really don't have anything more I want to say to you Tip. You have obviously made up your mind and are closed to the idea that he might have any redeeming virtues at all in spite of what a lot of people here who have engaged with him have said. I think it is sad and more of a reflection on you than on hiim.

[Otter]

Phill Thomas - The Bac Man

Originally Posted by tiptronic_ct
Who the hell is so self-absorbed that they write their own Wikipedia entry in any event? WTF?

Uhh, let me think... an alcoholic maybe?

[Otter]

Phill Thomas - The Bac Man

I don't want to keep this going but Phill does actually put a full disclaimer on his Alcoholism Northwest site. Here is the disclaimer:

"In the mid to late 2000's my alcohol misuse had progressed through dependency to frank addiction. This caused me to neglect the running of my otherwise successful private practice. This eventually resulted in my medical licence being suspended by the GMC."

[Otter]

Phill Thomas - The Bac Man

Here is an interesting site which I just found with a Baclofen and Naltrexone homedetox:

Dr Neil Beck's Alcohol Home Detox and Relapse Prevention Program for Alcoholics- Low Dose Naltrexone

[SlipperyPete]

Phill Thomas - The Bac Man

Is the healthcare system in the UK similar to the systems in other European countries? And how do you guys feel about the system, outside of the whole addiction treatment?

In the U.S. our healthcare system is generally regarded as being on par with that of Somalia's, and Canada and Europe are looked at as being progressive havens. From what I've read around here, though, it seems that British doctors just don't care, and don't have a reason to care.

[JackieClaire]

Phill Thomas - The Bac Man

Thanks for bringing this up SP,
I'm not surprised that you get the impression that British doctors don't give a flying fox about their patients. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I have a smashing relationship with my GP and have been with her more years than I care to mention.

Above all else the NHS is free apart from prescription charges in England which are ?7.40 ($11.92) for each drug, unless you are on certain state benefits and then they are free. As for Scotland I'm lead to believe they are free for all people on benefits or not.

So regardless of whether you have a minor ailment like a broken arm or a more serious condition like heart surgery you will be treated free of charge.

Admittedly the cost of the NHS is paid for by the working people of the UK through taxes but the service is available to all even visiting nationals.

I've had to deal with doctors and nurses over many years and to be honest 99.99% of them are hard working, dedicated people.

And by and large the doctors and nurses I've met when seeking treatment have been a good bunch too.

[Otter]

Phill Thomas - The Bac Man

JackieClaire;1200776 wrote: Thanks for bringing this up SP,
I'm not surprised that you get the impression that British doctors don't give a flying fox about their patients. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I have a smashing relationship with my GP and have been with her more years than I care to mention.

Above all else the NHS is free apart from prescription charges in England which are ?7.40 ($11.92) for each drug, unless you are on certain state benefits and then they are free. As for Scotland I'm lead to believe they are free for all people on benefits or not.

So regardless of whether you have a minor ailment like a broken arm or a more serious condition like heart surgery you will be treated free of charge.

Admittedly the cost of the NHS is paid for by the working people of the UK through taxes but the service is available to all even visiting nationals.

I've had to deal with doctors and nurses over many years and to be honest 99.99% of them are hard working, dedicated people.

And by and large the doctors and nurses I've met when seeking treatment have been a good bunch too.

Individually doctors here are good hard working people. I am a supporter of the NHS and believe medical treatment should be paid for by the government because it is more important than policing, fire services, sanitation and defence which are all paid for by government in the US.

I am Canadian but have lived in the UK for 20 years now. Canada has Medicare which is paid for by everyone from a deduction from their pay cheque each month and free if you are on welfare. The standard of care in Canadian hospitals is probably the best in the world and outstrips anything I have seen in the UK. The hospitals are new and clean and the doctors are trained to the hilt. The average age of admission to a Canadian medical school is about 24 after a degree or two in a science like animal biology. I know doctors who were still doing their internships into their 30s.

Here in the UK "kids" go into a degree in medicine as early as 17 or 18. I have had nothing but abuse here because I am told that my undergraduate degree is the same as an "A" level, ie., a high school diploma. I am constantly told that US and Canadian undergrads have to take writing courses so North American education must be crap. I tell them that this is because there is universal state paid education in North America and virtually everyone gets through High School as opposed to the UK where most people are kicked out of school at age 16 and a minority go on to even finish A levels. And even university education is considered a right if you can get the grades or pass a basic admission exam. It is all based on cost here. What is the point of the taxpayer paying for most people to be educated to the age of 18? Education is not valued here the way it is in the US and Canada.

Then, because the remaining few who get through to their A levels are considered the brightest they can go into whatever degree course they want, depending on grades, including law and medicine straight from school with no LSATs or MCATs to determine suitability to the profession.

The result is that as a whole the entire population of doctors here are less educated than in North America and are imbued with a notion that they know everything they need to know about their particular field. They learn the profession as though it is a trade and may be very good within their specialty but don't have the underpinnings of years of scientific training that North American doctors do. Also, you have other professions here such as midwives who perform deliveries and far more is done by nurses. And less is spent here than in Canada on equipment in hospitals. It is just a whole different kettle of fish here..

Having come through pre law and my brother through pre med in Canada, I know how gruelling it is to get into North American professional faculties.

The medical profession here do care about their patients and treat them within the limits of their training and experience which is just not as wide and extensive as North American doctors.

The other problem is that it is very class ridden because there is still a huge private school population here. Good grades in an English "Public" (private) school will gain you entrance into a profession far more easily than from a state run school. I know one Barrister who went to a state school in London and he said there were only a handful of students who even finished their A levels.

So, in terms of alcoholism, there is no training in it at medical school here and it is not considered a medical issue but an issue of moral choice to drink. All GPs are employed by the government and medicines can only be prescribed if approved by the Primary Care Trust which holds the budget strings and they won't pay for a medication which is not trialled and is prescribed over the guidelines etc etc. The only way you can persuade a doctor to do it if they are not willing is to go to Prof. Chick and get him to advise the GP to do so. It makes it so difficult.

Of course, when you go to the doctor you only get a 15 minute consultation which is far too short to deal meaningfully with an issue like alcoholism so they just refer you to an addictions specialist. They generally won't deal with alcoholism at all except to prescribe Campral. They do deal with opiate addicts because the government started paying for prescription for methadone and Subutex in the 1990's so now a GP will prescribe those.

The result is the overwhelming majority of doctors here just won't help with prescribing Baclofen. They don't generally look into the science of it and are not interested.

Turning back to the topic of this thread, whatever your personal views, it is rare to find someone who, while being trained as a surgeon has a knowledge of neurology and does take an interest in a very important public health issue to the point that he will devote his life to it.

[missyabby1]

Phill Thomas - The Bac Man

Wow

Someone at last called you out otter. And you changed the subject completely. A girl died because of your fraudulent "doctor". You have done so much harm on this forum. I can't believe you still have the audacity to post here. How is your wife? You still haven't answered that question? I have asked it many a time. Because I remember you kept saying Baclofen saved her life. Is there an update on that? cos it is important.., To me, anyway. The good Dr is a fraud.......fullstop. Are you?

Missy