Set in the "third century of the second calendar", Blake's 7 followed the exploits of revolutionary Roj Blake as he led a band of rebels against the forces of the Terran Federation – a totalitarian regime which ruled the Earth and much of the galaxy.
Here in the second month of 2010, independent small GP surgeries are under attack from the BMA and RCGP federators, in their ivory twin towers, where they are busy threatening any current Blake’s 7 aficionados, with their “Changing Partnerships” document.
Under far-reaching proposals, the traditional practice-based model would be phased out over as little as five years, with GPs of the future working under large umbrella organisations – yet another layer of management.
Within federations, practices would remain independent contractors but become “more uniform” under a “corporate overarching management structure” - could that translate to “faceless” bogged down in a “bureaucratic quagmire”?
The Federation in Blake’s world controlled its citizens using mass surveillance, brainwashing and pacification – sound familiar?
I looked up independent and how the opposite of it might be defined – I came up with these answers: dependent, reliant, needy, hooked on, contingent, at the mercy of… The RCGP model is not for me, but who will join me in the Liberator, fleeing the Federation...?