On the subject of publicity, the following was in my daily e-mail from Paramedic Network News today: A pay dispute will likely see West Midlands and Shropshire paramedics begin a series of walkouts next week. The BBC (January 31) said the industrial action, which will begin Tuesday, will continue on February 16 and 23. The work to rule campaign comes after a January 30 deadline for an agreement with the Department of Health passed. Union spokesman Mark Weatherhead said the medics' beef involves the government pay scale known as the Agenda for Change. Under the deal, several practitioners would have been hit with a nearly 4,000 pound salary cut. West Midlands chief executive Barry Johns said since the Agenda is national, individual services have little say when it comes to remuneration. Good luck dealing with this stupidity.