I have my follow-up hospital appointment; it's tomorrow. This time the letter was sent by first class post and arrived last Thursday so I have had plenty of notice about it, unlike my original appointment that I found out about by chance.
Tomorrow I will be getting the results of the biopsy. The wound has healed up nicely and the soreness on my nose has gone completely. This would suggest that my problems are probably over and that I will be discharged tomorrow.
The important part about all of this is that the original referral by my GP was made on 28th August; that was the Friday before the Bank Holiday weekend. So in a little over four weeks, I have been referred to the hospital, seen the consultant (and it was a proper doctor consultant), had the biopsy, had the suture removed, and will be having the follow-up appointment and getting the biopsy results.
I'm very pleased with the service that I have received from the NHS, and all it has cost me is my bus fares.
Showing posts with label NHS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NHS. Show all posts
Monday, 28 September 2009
Thursday, 13 November 2008
It Really Isn't Fair
I should be on a bit of a high this morning after achieving a minor triumph in front of an audience of doctors, but this will have to wait for another post. Instead I have found myself wanting, perhaps needing would be a better description, to write on an entirely different subject. It is a subject that most of us with mental health problems feel very strongly about and we are not alone because the people that we need to be able to have access to also feel as we do. The subject is the poor level of mental health services in this country. The reason that I find myself writing this post is because I have, this morning, read the latest post from Hannah at Coloured Mind. I urge you to read it for I am sure that you, too, will be moved.
The level of support is not poor because of the calibre of the people who are employed in this area. The problem is that there really are not enough facilities and staff there to support the number of people who require to use them. There truly is a lottery for access to whatever services are available for we are left to fend for ourselves until our number is pulled out of the hat. That is not to say that we don't get support from our GPs, because in most cases the support that we receive is superb, but GPs have neither the time nor, in most cases, the expertise to give us the help that we require.
I am sure that Hannah's story is not unique. When she lived at home she got the help that she needed, but having moved to university in Manchester she has found herself back in the pot waiting for her number to come up again. This sort of thing would not happen if she had cancer, so why should it because her problems relate to her mental health? Perhaps the reason is that mental illness is invisible. You wear no plaster cast, you don't need crutches or a wheelchair to get about, very often you appear completely normal to those around you. But what others cannot see, and if they have never suffered from mental illness themselves cannot understand, is the turmoil that goes on inside you.
If just a small percentage of the money that has so far been spent on Connecting for Health, the infamous computer system that the government is intent on forcing on us, had been spent on mental health services, then the long waiting periods that we have to endure to be seen by a psychiatrist, to be assessed for and offered psychotherapy, or to get any of the other services that we require, could be reduced to the time (from referral to treatment) that is now being heralded as what we can expect as the norm within the rest of the NHS.
There is a huge campaign being waged by the government at the present time to reduce the discrimination that mental health sufferers experience in the work place, and yet it is the very fact that we do not get the treament and support that we require that marks us out as different and leads to much of that discrimination. By ensuring that we have access to the specialists who can diagnose our problems, implement, monitor and adjust drug regimes that enable us to operate at a level that means that we can study or work at a normal level, and recommend the additional treatment and services that will make our lives more bearable, we would probably be able to exist in a manner that would put us on a level playing field with the rest of the population.
Is this too much to ask? I don't think so and I believe that it is about time that we were treated more fairly so that we can enjoy something approaching a normal life.
The level of support is not poor because of the calibre of the people who are employed in this area. The problem is that there really are not enough facilities and staff there to support the number of people who require to use them. There truly is a lottery for access to whatever services are available for we are left to fend for ourselves until our number is pulled out of the hat. That is not to say that we don't get support from our GPs, because in most cases the support that we receive is superb, but GPs have neither the time nor, in most cases, the expertise to give us the help that we require.
I am sure that Hannah's story is not unique. When she lived at home she got the help that she needed, but having moved to university in Manchester she has found herself back in the pot waiting for her number to come up again. This sort of thing would not happen if she had cancer, so why should it because her problems relate to her mental health? Perhaps the reason is that mental illness is invisible. You wear no plaster cast, you don't need crutches or a wheelchair to get about, very often you appear completely normal to those around you. But what others cannot see, and if they have never suffered from mental illness themselves cannot understand, is the turmoil that goes on inside you.
If just a small percentage of the money that has so far been spent on Connecting for Health, the infamous computer system that the government is intent on forcing on us, had been spent on mental health services, then the long waiting periods that we have to endure to be seen by a psychiatrist, to be assessed for and offered psychotherapy, or to get any of the other services that we require, could be reduced to the time (from referral to treatment) that is now being heralded as what we can expect as the norm within the rest of the NHS.
There is a huge campaign being waged by the government at the present time to reduce the discrimination that mental health sufferers experience in the work place, and yet it is the very fact that we do not get the treament and support that we require that marks us out as different and leads to much of that discrimination. By ensuring that we have access to the specialists who can diagnose our problems, implement, monitor and adjust drug regimes that enable us to operate at a level that means that we can study or work at a normal level, and recommend the additional treatment and services that will make our lives more bearable, we would probably be able to exist in a manner that would put us on a level playing field with the rest of the population.
Is this too much to ask? I don't think so and I believe that it is about time that we were treated more fairly so that we can enjoy something approaching a normal life.
Wednesday, 12 November 2008
Nothing New From Sir Liam Donaldson
The BBC News website has started a new weekly column that is to allow leading clinicians and experts to outline their views on health topics. The first of these columns has been provided by Sir Liam Donaldson, the Chief Medical Officer for England. As Sir Liam probably hasn't seen a patient for a great many years (and I am sure that the many medical bloggers out there will confirm this point) I am not sure that one could really refer to him as a clinician any more because that implies someone who is practising medicine on a regular basis, and to call him an expert would probably have many doctors choking on their morning coffee for was he not one of the major architects of the MMC/MTAS fiasco?
The column that he has written seems to provide little of any significance about health or the NHS. He seems to believe that one of the ways to improve the service that the NHS provides to patients can be to mirror the service provided by shops. He sees patients as 'customers' a term that I believe many patients consider to be insulting. He highlights a case of a friend of his, who on arriving early for a GP appointment, was greeted by the receptionist saying, "you're early, I hope you don't expect to be seen early". Apparently Sir Liam's friend was "embarrassed and belittled" by being spoken to in this way in front of the other people in the waiting room. While one would perhaps be a little disgruntled at being spoken to in this way, to be embarrassed and belittled is perhaps a little over the top. It is an unfortunate fact that in many GPs surgeries these days, the reception desk is in the patient waiting area. Being used to a surgery where the reception was in a room separate from the waiting room, I found it a little awkward when I started at the GP practice that I am with now to find the reception in the waiting area. After all, who among us wants a large portion of the local population to know that you have come to make an appointment for a smear. I am sure that we have all come across the receptionist who perhaps isn't as polite as should be expected, but the way to deal with it is to have a word with the practice manager, after all there may be a reason why the receptionist hasn't been the best ambassador for the practice. Sir Liam goes on to admit that the case of the impolite receptionist was not a matter of life or death, but suggests that we wouldn't be spoken to in this way by a member of staff in John Lewis. I think that he is wrong, because I have had more problems with impolite shop staff than I have ever encountered in the NHS.
Sir Liam cites the report by Lord Darzi and talks about high quality care from the NHS which should include faster treatment, more accurate diagnoses, and better survival rates from life-threatening conditions. However, one wonders how easy this will be to achieve when there is concern within the medical profession about the lack of experience that will be the result of the changes that have been made to the training, time taken and experience required to achieve consultant status for doctors in the future. While it is only right that junior doctors should not be expected to work the ridiculous hours that was expected in the past, this should be taken into consideration when it comes to the length of time taken to reach consultant level. There is significant concern at the level of dumbing-down that seems to have occurred in our schools and the examinations that children sit, do we really want a similar dumbing down in the medical profession because mistakes have been made in the way that doctors are trained.
As I say, there isn't anything new in what Sir Liam has to say, nor should we perhaps expect it. He has spent too long away from the coal face and has no real idea of how hard many in the NHS are working to ensure the best possible service for patients that they can. The problem is that in many cases it is the multiple layers of management within the NHS that is responsible for things not working at optimum levels. Perhaps this is the area that needs to be examined more closely and compared to that within organizations such as John Lewis.
The column that he has written seems to provide little of any significance about health or the NHS. He seems to believe that one of the ways to improve the service that the NHS provides to patients can be to mirror the service provided by shops. He sees patients as 'customers' a term that I believe many patients consider to be insulting. He highlights a case of a friend of his, who on arriving early for a GP appointment, was greeted by the receptionist saying, "you're early, I hope you don't expect to be seen early". Apparently Sir Liam's friend was "embarrassed and belittled" by being spoken to in this way in front of the other people in the waiting room. While one would perhaps be a little disgruntled at being spoken to in this way, to be embarrassed and belittled is perhaps a little over the top. It is an unfortunate fact that in many GPs surgeries these days, the reception desk is in the patient waiting area. Being used to a surgery where the reception was in a room separate from the waiting room, I found it a little awkward when I started at the GP practice that I am with now to find the reception in the waiting area. After all, who among us wants a large portion of the local population to know that you have come to make an appointment for a smear. I am sure that we have all come across the receptionist who perhaps isn't as polite as should be expected, but the way to deal with it is to have a word with the practice manager, after all there may be a reason why the receptionist hasn't been the best ambassador for the practice. Sir Liam goes on to admit that the case of the impolite receptionist was not a matter of life or death, but suggests that we wouldn't be spoken to in this way by a member of staff in John Lewis. I think that he is wrong, because I have had more problems with impolite shop staff than I have ever encountered in the NHS.
Sir Liam cites the report by Lord Darzi and talks about high quality care from the NHS which should include faster treatment, more accurate diagnoses, and better survival rates from life-threatening conditions. However, one wonders how easy this will be to achieve when there is concern within the medical profession about the lack of experience that will be the result of the changes that have been made to the training, time taken and experience required to achieve consultant status for doctors in the future. While it is only right that junior doctors should not be expected to work the ridiculous hours that was expected in the past, this should be taken into consideration when it comes to the length of time taken to reach consultant level. There is significant concern at the level of dumbing-down that seems to have occurred in our schools and the examinations that children sit, do we really want a similar dumbing down in the medical profession because mistakes have been made in the way that doctors are trained.
As I say, there isn't anything new in what Sir Liam has to say, nor should we perhaps expect it. He has spent too long away from the coal face and has no real idea of how hard many in the NHS are working to ensure the best possible service for patients that they can. The problem is that in many cases it is the multiple layers of management within the NHS that is responsible for things not working at optimum levels. Perhaps this is the area that needs to be examined more closely and compared to that within organizations such as John Lewis.
Saturday, 13 September 2008
All Is Not What It Seems
Usually when I start to fall downhill there is a reason for it; an upcoming anniversary or something that has triggered things in my memory. But, as I fall deeper into the black hole that is depression, this time I am not aware of anything that could have caused it to happen.
Yesterday morning I went off to my psychotherapy session as usual. I was pretty anxious as I left the house and even more so by the time that I arrived at the hospital. My therapist was aware that all was not well almost immediately (I think the tremors in my hands may have been a bit of a giveaway) and decided that the session would take a slightly different path to normal. The session covered how I felt when a period of depression started, how I felt as it deepened and how I felt as I was coming out of it.
For me depression has always had a deeply physical side to it as well as the mental effects. When I am at my worst, my head and body no longer feel connected; there is a significant sensation of numbness in the area of my neck and shoulders. When I get to this stage I find it difficult to concentrate on even the simplest things, my sleep pattern gets worse as the days progress, and I start to have dark thoughts; my mind takes me to places that I really don't want to be.
For the first time ever, the session was a real two-way conversation and as a result I gained a lot from it because of the questions that my therapist was asking and the answers that I gave helped both of us to understand more about me.
Yesterday afternoon I had an appointment with my new GP. This was an appointment to go through the results of my recent blood test, to check on my blood pressure to see if the recent introduction of medication to lower it was having the desired effect, and for him to get to know a little more about me. He has requested that I book double appointments for at least the next few months so that he can get to know me as well as possible so that he can effectively monitor me.
The blood tests showed that all was well, my blood pressure has dropped to normal levels, and we had a good chat about what sort of psychotherapy I was having, about my sleep problems, and how I cope with things when my depression gets really bad. We also discussed a programme that the local council and PCT jointly run for people suffering from depression, anxiety and stress. The result of this discussion is that he has referred me to this programme and hopefully I shall soon be joining a local art class. I've never been much of an artist, but I've always wanted to be able to draw and paint, and I think that this might be a good way to help me with my lack of self-confidence, and help with dealing with social contacts. So with a bit of luck I will soon have a regular art class to form an alternative to my OU studies, and hopefully it will also help me focus on those studies a little better.
So what is this post all about? On the surface it may seem to be about me and my depression, but actually it is about something quite different. It is about two doctors; both of whom helped me on a day when I was feeling very down. Neither of them have made me feel better, but both have helped me to understand why I am the way that I am and have helped me to find ways in which to come to terms with that.
So, why is it that there are so many people in government who feel that doctors are not doing a good job and therefore it is necessary for them to interfere in the NHS? The problem is the government are not talking to the patients about how they feel about the NHS and its staff. They listen to big business, and to people who have an axe to grind. If they really want to know how to improve the NHS they should listen to more people like me; real patients with real problems, who are getting excellent support from their GP, access to treatment for mental health problems, and who appreciate all that is being done for them, and they need to listen to the the kind of doctors who are looking after me. It is always those at the coal face who know most about the business, not those who sit in offices far away and who have no idea about what really happens.
Yesterday morning I went off to my psychotherapy session as usual. I was pretty anxious as I left the house and even more so by the time that I arrived at the hospital. My therapist was aware that all was not well almost immediately (I think the tremors in my hands may have been a bit of a giveaway) and decided that the session would take a slightly different path to normal. The session covered how I felt when a period of depression started, how I felt as it deepened and how I felt as I was coming out of it.
For me depression has always had a deeply physical side to it as well as the mental effects. When I am at my worst, my head and body no longer feel connected; there is a significant sensation of numbness in the area of my neck and shoulders. When I get to this stage I find it difficult to concentrate on even the simplest things, my sleep pattern gets worse as the days progress, and I start to have dark thoughts; my mind takes me to places that I really don't want to be.
For the first time ever, the session was a real two-way conversation and as a result I gained a lot from it because of the questions that my therapist was asking and the answers that I gave helped both of us to understand more about me.
Yesterday afternoon I had an appointment with my new GP. This was an appointment to go through the results of my recent blood test, to check on my blood pressure to see if the recent introduction of medication to lower it was having the desired effect, and for him to get to know a little more about me. He has requested that I book double appointments for at least the next few months so that he can get to know me as well as possible so that he can effectively monitor me.
The blood tests showed that all was well, my blood pressure has dropped to normal levels, and we had a good chat about what sort of psychotherapy I was having, about my sleep problems, and how I cope with things when my depression gets really bad. We also discussed a programme that the local council and PCT jointly run for people suffering from depression, anxiety and stress. The result of this discussion is that he has referred me to this programme and hopefully I shall soon be joining a local art class. I've never been much of an artist, but I've always wanted to be able to draw and paint, and I think that this might be a good way to help me with my lack of self-confidence, and help with dealing with social contacts. So with a bit of luck I will soon have a regular art class to form an alternative to my OU studies, and hopefully it will also help me focus on those studies a little better.
So what is this post all about? On the surface it may seem to be about me and my depression, but actually it is about something quite different. It is about two doctors; both of whom helped me on a day when I was feeling very down. Neither of them have made me feel better, but both have helped me to understand why I am the way that I am and have helped me to find ways in which to come to terms with that.
So, why is it that there are so many people in government who feel that doctors are not doing a good job and therefore it is necessary for them to interfere in the NHS? The problem is the government are not talking to the patients about how they feel about the NHS and its staff. They listen to big business, and to people who have an axe to grind. If they really want to know how to improve the NHS they should listen to more people like me; real patients with real problems, who are getting excellent support from their GP, access to treatment for mental health problems, and who appreciate all that is being done for them, and they need to listen to the the kind of doctors who are looking after me. It is always those at the coal face who know most about the business, not those who sit in offices far away and who have no idea about what really happens.
Friday, 29 August 2008
I Seem To Have Spent The Day With Doctors
With it being Friday, it was psychotherapy day, which meant a night of interrupted sleep, an early exit from the house and a trip to the bus stop to catch a bus to the hospital. I'm a bit paranoid about timekeeping, and I was a little late setting off this morning, so when the wait for the bus seemed a little longer than normal I worried (absolutely needlessly) about being late for my appointment. The bus eventually arrived, and because the kids are still on summer holiday, and because the traffic seemed a little lighter than normal, I arrived at the hospital with time to spare. Not as early as normal, but still early.
Today's session started as usual with me being struck dumb and unable to express myself in any way, but my psychotherapist has become used to this and after a couple of minutes always makes a little comment, half couched as a question, and I generally start talking from that point, and rarely stop for long during the session. When I do take a break from talking, there is usually a simple question about how I was feeling at the time that I am talking about, and off I go again.
If you were asked to talk about yourself for 50-60 minutes, you would probably find it quite difficult. Then imagine what it is like having to do that to someone who is a total stranger on a weekly basis. It is difficult, it is very difficult, and you end up going to places in your mind and finding memories that you didn't know existed. It is an emotional roller-coaster that can be very traumatic at the time that you are talking about those memories, but which can ultimately become therapeutic because of the knowledge of yourself that you gain from the experience.
Today, for the first time, the session did not revolve around my relationships with my family and the causes of my beginning to start to suffer from depression. Today the session was emotional for a different reason because it revolved around the reasons for my having to seek early retirement on medical grounds. It was looking at how difficult other people find it to know what to say or do when confronted by someone with mental illness, how we suffer from discrimination in the workplace because of something over which we have no control, and how it makes you feel when you find yourself in these kinds of situations.
I have to admit that I was quite glad to get outside and start to walk to the bus stop to catch the bus for my journey home.
This afternoon, I had another encounter with a doctor; this time it was a visit to see my GP. Up until a year ago I was blessed with having perfect blood pressure. Then suddenly instead of a text-book perfect BP, it started to rise. The situation has been monitored and the possibility of medication has been discussed. The last time I went to see him, my GP was concerned about the level of anxiety that I was exhibiting, and as a result of this, and the fact that I was finding it difficult to climb out of the depression that I was in, he decided to change my medication. This was my first visit since the change and he commented immediately how much more relaxed I seemed. I knew that he was going to check my BP, he had told me he would the last time we met, so I was prepared for it. To make sure that I was relaxed, I set off for the surgery early, booked myself in, and sat in a quiet corner of the waiting room reading a book to take my mind of things and to get myself into a calm state. Once in the consulting room, and after the pleasantries had taken place, the cuff was put on my arm and I was told to sit back in the chair, close my eyes and to concentrate on my breathing. GP then proceeded to get me into as relaxed a state as he could before pressing the button on the machine. But even after this attempt to get me calm and relaxed my blood pressure was still much higher than it ought to be. At least we both did our best to make sure that it was a measurement taken without the influence of a stressful situation, but the result is yet another tablet to be taken each day.
We then talked about how my psychotherapy was going, the reasons for my feeling low at the moment, but how I wasn't feeling as bad as I expected allowing for the time of year and the anniversaries that will occur next week, and that I felt the change in medication had brought this about. We talked about how I wanted to be monitored in the future, although that won't start until my BP is under control, and I said that I would like to settle into a routine of monthly appointments, which is what I had become used to over the years, but that obviously if things got very bad, additional appointments would be made.
It was a long, totally unhurried consultation (but before anybody complains about me making my GP late for his following patients, it was a prebooked double appointment). I left feeling that I had been treated as a person, not just a number on a balance sheet, and that I had been properly allowed to take part in determining the way in which future management of my health will be conducted. Somehow I really don't think that would be possible if Gordon Brown and Lord Darzi are allowed to ruin the NHS in the way they plan to. I know I won't get treatment like that in a polyclinic.
Today's session started as usual with me being struck dumb and unable to express myself in any way, but my psychotherapist has become used to this and after a couple of minutes always makes a little comment, half couched as a question, and I generally start talking from that point, and rarely stop for long during the session. When I do take a break from talking, there is usually a simple question about how I was feeling at the time that I am talking about, and off I go again.
If you were asked to talk about yourself for 50-60 minutes, you would probably find it quite difficult. Then imagine what it is like having to do that to someone who is a total stranger on a weekly basis. It is difficult, it is very difficult, and you end up going to places in your mind and finding memories that you didn't know existed. It is an emotional roller-coaster that can be very traumatic at the time that you are talking about those memories, but which can ultimately become therapeutic because of the knowledge of yourself that you gain from the experience.
Today, for the first time, the session did not revolve around my relationships with my family and the causes of my beginning to start to suffer from depression. Today the session was emotional for a different reason because it revolved around the reasons for my having to seek early retirement on medical grounds. It was looking at how difficult other people find it to know what to say or do when confronted by someone with mental illness, how we suffer from discrimination in the workplace because of something over which we have no control, and how it makes you feel when you find yourself in these kinds of situations.
I have to admit that I was quite glad to get outside and start to walk to the bus stop to catch the bus for my journey home.
This afternoon, I had another encounter with a doctor; this time it was a visit to see my GP. Up until a year ago I was blessed with having perfect blood pressure. Then suddenly instead of a text-book perfect BP, it started to rise. The situation has been monitored and the possibility of medication has been discussed. The last time I went to see him, my GP was concerned about the level of anxiety that I was exhibiting, and as a result of this, and the fact that I was finding it difficult to climb out of the depression that I was in, he decided to change my medication. This was my first visit since the change and he commented immediately how much more relaxed I seemed. I knew that he was going to check my BP, he had told me he would the last time we met, so I was prepared for it. To make sure that I was relaxed, I set off for the surgery early, booked myself in, and sat in a quiet corner of the waiting room reading a book to take my mind of things and to get myself into a calm state. Once in the consulting room, and after the pleasantries had taken place, the cuff was put on my arm and I was told to sit back in the chair, close my eyes and to concentrate on my breathing. GP then proceeded to get me into as relaxed a state as he could before pressing the button on the machine. But even after this attempt to get me calm and relaxed my blood pressure was still much higher than it ought to be. At least we both did our best to make sure that it was a measurement taken without the influence of a stressful situation, but the result is yet another tablet to be taken each day.
We then talked about how my psychotherapy was going, the reasons for my feeling low at the moment, but how I wasn't feeling as bad as I expected allowing for the time of year and the anniversaries that will occur next week, and that I felt the change in medication had brought this about. We talked about how I wanted to be monitored in the future, although that won't start until my BP is under control, and I said that I would like to settle into a routine of monthly appointments, which is what I had become used to over the years, but that obviously if things got very bad, additional appointments would be made.
It was a long, totally unhurried consultation (but before anybody complains about me making my GP late for his following patients, it was a prebooked double appointment). I left feeling that I had been treated as a person, not just a number on a balance sheet, and that I had been properly allowed to take part in determining the way in which future management of my health will be conducted. Somehow I really don't think that would be possible if Gordon Brown and Lord Darzi are allowed to ruin the NHS in the way they plan to. I know I won't get treatment like that in a polyclinic.
Monday, 18 August 2008
I'm Worried About My Health, And That Of The NHS
Speaking as a patient, I am very worried about the NHS and its future. When I started to read blogs a few months ago, many of those that I started to read regularly were written by doctors and medical students. You may wonder why I was drawn to these blogs in particular, and I suppose the answer would be that many of those written by the doctors are very thought provoking and often allow you an insight into how the NHS works, while those of the medical students are often full of humour, something that we particularly associate with them as a group.
There is another reason why I read these blogs; I'm worried about my health. I don't expect to get a diagnosis from these blogs, I go to see my GP for that, but what I can get is opinion about what is happening in the NHS from one of the groups that has a vested interest in it. As a patient, I am a member of the other group that has a vested interest in the NHS, and it is for that reason that I believe it is every patient's duty to take note of what this government is trying to impose upon us.
The British tax-payer is entitled to get value for money from the things that their taxes are used to fund, they also have the right for politicians to be accountable to the public, after all they are employed by us to do a job, and at the moment they are not doing it very well. If I had performed at work in the way that they have, I would undoubtedly have been given a series of warnings, first verbal, and then in writing; I may even have found my employment terminated by now. Unfortunately, it is not quite so easy to get rid of a government. Gordon Brown has been served a number of warnings from the British public already. The local elections a few months ago sent the message loud and clear, and it has been re-echoed at the by-elections that have been held subsequently. But Mr Brown is determined to go from office having caused as much damage as possible, so that whoever follows has a very hard time putting things right. While he was Chancellor of the Exchequer he was constantly telling us what a good job he was doing with the economy. He was very careful to avoid mentioning that it was the Conservatives who put the economy into a strong position. Since he has become Prime Minister, it has become obvious that he certainly did not do a good job with our economy; we have learnt that that the poor position that we find ourselves in today is in part a result of the way in which Gordon Brown did things at the Treasury, and who he listened to.
Patient participation is not something that should just be talked about; it is something that we should all try to do to ensure that there is an NHS there for us when we are most likely to need it, when we are old and more likely to suffer ill health. This government has a very strong record in tinkering in things that should not be tinkered with, and the results are always bad.
Yes, they may have managed to reduce waiting lists by putting in more money. But huge sums of money have been, and are still being. ploughed into computer systems, that are so complex that they are proving impossible to implement or operate effectively and efficiently. There are also serious concerns about the security of information stored on such computer systems, and yet the government pushes on with their introduction.
Having negotiated a new contract with the GPs in this country, to the satisfaction of both the government and the doctors, the government has now decided that it got things wrong. But instead of biting the bullet and admitting their mistake, the decision seems to have been taken to get back at the GPs by doing everything possible to destroy the wonderful relationship that exists between GPs and their patients. And how are they doing this? By forcing the introduction of polyclinics and health centres, by putting the running of these out to tender, and in some areas, refusing local GPs the right to tender for these contracts. Some GP surgeries are going to be forced to close when these new centres are opened. People will have to travel further to see a doctor, and it almost certainly won't be the same doctor each time that they have to see someone. And why are we being forced down this route? Because the government have decided that they want GPs to open for longer hours to suit a few people who find current practice hours unsuitable. The problem is that this group of people probably need to see a doctor very rarely, so we have the ridiculous idea of rules being set to benefit a very small minority at the expense of the vast majority.
The government is definitely trying to privatise significant parts of the NHS, and this is something that we should not allow. I have said before that the NHS is not a business, and should not be run as such. It is a public service that is there to serve the whole population, no matter their ability to pay for treatment. Primary care should be firmly rooted in the community, and local GP surgeries do exactly that. It takes me a couple of minutes to walk to my local surgery, I am sure that should a polyclinic be introduced into my area of London, then I would have to travel significantly further.
I am asking patients to do their duty. If you want the NHS to continue as a service that serves you and not some far off shareholders, then you should participate in the NHS. Go to your local surgery and see if there are ways that you can join in with patient participation, and let us show the government that they cannot ride roughshod over us.
There is another reason why I read these blogs; I'm worried about my health. I don't expect to get a diagnosis from these blogs, I go to see my GP for that, but what I can get is opinion about what is happening in the NHS from one of the groups that has a vested interest in it. As a patient, I am a member of the other group that has a vested interest in the NHS, and it is for that reason that I believe it is every patient's duty to take note of what this government is trying to impose upon us.
The British tax-payer is entitled to get value for money from the things that their taxes are used to fund, they also have the right for politicians to be accountable to the public, after all they are employed by us to do a job, and at the moment they are not doing it very well. If I had performed at work in the way that they have, I would undoubtedly have been given a series of warnings, first verbal, and then in writing; I may even have found my employment terminated by now. Unfortunately, it is not quite so easy to get rid of a government. Gordon Brown has been served a number of warnings from the British public already. The local elections a few months ago sent the message loud and clear, and it has been re-echoed at the by-elections that have been held subsequently. But Mr Brown is determined to go from office having caused as much damage as possible, so that whoever follows has a very hard time putting things right. While he was Chancellor of the Exchequer he was constantly telling us what a good job he was doing with the economy. He was very careful to avoid mentioning that it was the Conservatives who put the economy into a strong position. Since he has become Prime Minister, it has become obvious that he certainly did not do a good job with our economy; we have learnt that that the poor position that we find ourselves in today is in part a result of the way in which Gordon Brown did things at the Treasury, and who he listened to.
Patient participation is not something that should just be talked about; it is something that we should all try to do to ensure that there is an NHS there for us when we are most likely to need it, when we are old and more likely to suffer ill health. This government has a very strong record in tinkering in things that should not be tinkered with, and the results are always bad.
Yes, they may have managed to reduce waiting lists by putting in more money. But huge sums of money have been, and are still being. ploughed into computer systems, that are so complex that they are proving impossible to implement or operate effectively and efficiently. There are also serious concerns about the security of information stored on such computer systems, and yet the government pushes on with their introduction.
Having negotiated a new contract with the GPs in this country, to the satisfaction of both the government and the doctors, the government has now decided that it got things wrong. But instead of biting the bullet and admitting their mistake, the decision seems to have been taken to get back at the GPs by doing everything possible to destroy the wonderful relationship that exists between GPs and their patients. And how are they doing this? By forcing the introduction of polyclinics and health centres, by putting the running of these out to tender, and in some areas, refusing local GPs the right to tender for these contracts. Some GP surgeries are going to be forced to close when these new centres are opened. People will have to travel further to see a doctor, and it almost certainly won't be the same doctor each time that they have to see someone. And why are we being forced down this route? Because the government have decided that they want GPs to open for longer hours to suit a few people who find current practice hours unsuitable. The problem is that this group of people probably need to see a doctor very rarely, so we have the ridiculous idea of rules being set to benefit a very small minority at the expense of the vast majority.
The government is definitely trying to privatise significant parts of the NHS, and this is something that we should not allow. I have said before that the NHS is not a business, and should not be run as such. It is a public service that is there to serve the whole population, no matter their ability to pay for treatment. Primary care should be firmly rooted in the community, and local GP surgeries do exactly that. It takes me a couple of minutes to walk to my local surgery, I am sure that should a polyclinic be introduced into my area of London, then I would have to travel significantly further.
I am asking patients to do their duty. If you want the NHS to continue as a service that serves you and not some far off shareholders, then you should participate in the NHS. Go to your local surgery and see if there are ways that you can join in with patient participation, and let us show the government that they cannot ride roughshod over us.
Tuesday, 8 July 2008
In Sympathy With The Medical Profession
I am not a doctor (I'm not clever enough and I'm too old to try now) but I find it very interesting, and often very amusing, to read the blogs of the Jobbing Doctor and a number of the other doctors who regularly give us their point of view on things medical and that pertain to the medical world. Over the last week there have been a number of posts from these caring professionals dealing with the Darzi Report as well as the wholesale GP-bashing that seems to be going on at the moment.
As a member of the general public who has the need to consult a doctor on a regular basis, I would like to say how much I sympathise with the doctors in this country and the horrendous attacks that are being made on them by people who really should know better. I was with my last GP for about 15 years and he knew me very well; he helped me through the grieving process when my husband died very suddenly, and he supported me through a number of major illnesses, which eventually led to my having to take medical retirement. My move from Cambridgeshire coincided with this wonderful GP taking early retirement because he was fed up with the way that this government were treating doctors, and GPs in particular. So having moved to London, I had to find myself a new GP and I was lucky because I found one who has been very kind and helpful over the last year. Unfortunately this new GP is retiring in just a few weeks, again pretty much as a result of the GP-bashing that this government seems to be so keen on.
Why am I commenting on this? Well, as someone with a very complex medical history (which has all happened in the last 10 years) it is important to me that I have a GP with whom I can develop a good relationship so that it is not necessary to go through my complete medical history each time I have an appointment. What worries me is that this situation could very likely be what is facing us if Lord Darzi, the Government, and the CBI get their way.
One thing that the NHS will never be is a business; it is a service and should be treated as such. Yes, we should be entitled to expect certain standards, and with the right support the NHS can meet those standards, but if Government is constantly moving the goalposts, it is understandable that doctors will become disenchanted and feel less inclined, as well as being less able, to provide the service that they so obviously want to.
So, I am happy to stand up and be counted. I want to stand with the doctors and say to the Government, "Keep your hands off our GP practices, stop trying to privatise something that needs to remain in the public sector if it is to continue helping those of us on low incomes who can't afford private medical insurance or with complex medical problems that require regular contact with the same doctor for continuity of treatment".
As a member of the general public who has the need to consult a doctor on a regular basis, I would like to say how much I sympathise with the doctors in this country and the horrendous attacks that are being made on them by people who really should know better. I was with my last GP for about 15 years and he knew me very well; he helped me through the grieving process when my husband died very suddenly, and he supported me through a number of major illnesses, which eventually led to my having to take medical retirement. My move from Cambridgeshire coincided with this wonderful GP taking early retirement because he was fed up with the way that this government were treating doctors, and GPs in particular. So having moved to London, I had to find myself a new GP and I was lucky because I found one who has been very kind and helpful over the last year. Unfortunately this new GP is retiring in just a few weeks, again pretty much as a result of the GP-bashing that this government seems to be so keen on.
Why am I commenting on this? Well, as someone with a very complex medical history (which has all happened in the last 10 years) it is important to me that I have a GP with whom I can develop a good relationship so that it is not necessary to go through my complete medical history each time I have an appointment. What worries me is that this situation could very likely be what is facing us if Lord Darzi, the Government, and the CBI get their way.
One thing that the NHS will never be is a business; it is a service and should be treated as such. Yes, we should be entitled to expect certain standards, and with the right support the NHS can meet those standards, but if Government is constantly moving the goalposts, it is understandable that doctors will become disenchanted and feel less inclined, as well as being less able, to provide the service that they so obviously want to.
So, I am happy to stand up and be counted. I want to stand with the doctors and say to the Government, "Keep your hands off our GP practices, stop trying to privatise something that needs to remain in the public sector if it is to continue helping those of us on low incomes who can't afford private medical insurance or with complex medical problems that require regular contact with the same doctor for continuity of treatment".
Tuesday, 1 July 2008
A Patient's View of Darzi et al
I am probably one of the few non-medical, non-journalist types to have read the much heralded report from Lord Darzi, but I am also reasonably sure that I will not be the only person to read it and end up thinking "What is it all about?" I admit that there were some areas that I skim read, whilst there were others that I read in detail, even going back to reread them to make sure that I hadn't misunderstood what was being said. The Jobbing Doctor, who is one of my blog favourites and has already made a number of posts on the report, doesn't seem to be too impressed. And I can't blame him. As a classic example of mean-nothing doublespeak, this report is brilliant.
This is supposed to be putting forward something that will benefit the population of England for the next 10 years, I was unable to find anything that told me what was actually going to happen other than the fact that drugs would get faster NICE approval, and this had already been announced, and that I would have the right to choose my GP, not only which practice I joined, but also which doctor in that practice I could ask to see. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought I was already able to choose which practice I joined, within certain constraints to be sure, and up until a few years ago I could ask to join the list of a particular doctor within that practice.
I consider myself to be reasonably intelligent, I have studied in my own time for a degree while holding down a very responsible job, and I hope that I have a reasonable command of the English language, but I had problems understanding what this report was trying to say. Some years ago there was a push to make sure that important information was put forward in clear language, that anyone could understand. This report fails to meet that criteria. Why do I find this so worrying? Well the NHS is something that affects all our lives and we ought to be able to have a say in what we want. This report claims that the views of patients and NHS staff have been taken into consideration in making the proposals for the future, but we still have things put forward that are not necessarily what the patients (or even the NHS staff) want. Having moved back to London after living in another part of the country for 30 years, I decided that I would try to integrate back into the community and one of the ways in which I thought I could do this was to join the Patient Panel at my GP Surgery. We don't meet very often, but we do thrash out matters quite carefully, and we got agreement for the practice to offer some late evening and Saturday appointments before the government decided to impose this on GPs with threats of funding cuts. We also discussed and agreed to changes in the way that the practice operated its Duty Doctor rota with the result that the practice can now offer a significant number of additional appointments each week. This was achieved through thoughtful discussion, everyone's point of view being listened to, and compromise where it was necessary.
The NHS will never be perfect, will never meet everybody's dreams of what such a service should be, but there must be ways of providing an efficient service that meets the needs of the vast majority without introducing extra layers of service which will be costly and only be pandering to a small section of the population. Why put large sums of money into polyclinics (in London) and heath centres in other areas of the country to help a few people who don't want to take time off work to see a doctor, when that money could be put to use in the NHS that already exists and does a pretty good job as far as I am concerned. I've always understood that the way to get the best out of anything or anyone, is to ensure that the best use of the money available is made and that it should not be wasted on infrastructure and manpower that does not enhance the service provided. In other words, IF IT'S NOT BROKEN, DON'T FIX IT.
This is supposed to be putting forward something that will benefit the population of England for the next 10 years, I was unable to find anything that told me what was actually going to happen other than the fact that drugs would get faster NICE approval, and this had already been announced, and that I would have the right to choose my GP, not only which practice I joined, but also which doctor in that practice I could ask to see. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought I was already able to choose which practice I joined, within certain constraints to be sure, and up until a few years ago I could ask to join the list of a particular doctor within that practice.
I consider myself to be reasonably intelligent, I have studied in my own time for a degree while holding down a very responsible job, and I hope that I have a reasonable command of the English language, but I had problems understanding what this report was trying to say. Some years ago there was a push to make sure that important information was put forward in clear language, that anyone could understand. This report fails to meet that criteria. Why do I find this so worrying? Well the NHS is something that affects all our lives and we ought to be able to have a say in what we want. This report claims that the views of patients and NHS staff have been taken into consideration in making the proposals for the future, but we still have things put forward that are not necessarily what the patients (or even the NHS staff) want. Having moved back to London after living in another part of the country for 30 years, I decided that I would try to integrate back into the community and one of the ways in which I thought I could do this was to join the Patient Panel at my GP Surgery. We don't meet very often, but we do thrash out matters quite carefully, and we got agreement for the practice to offer some late evening and Saturday appointments before the government decided to impose this on GPs with threats of funding cuts. We also discussed and agreed to changes in the way that the practice operated its Duty Doctor rota with the result that the practice can now offer a significant number of additional appointments each week. This was achieved through thoughtful discussion, everyone's point of view being listened to, and compromise where it was necessary.
The NHS will never be perfect, will never meet everybody's dreams of what such a service should be, but there must be ways of providing an efficient service that meets the needs of the vast majority without introducing extra layers of service which will be costly and only be pandering to a small section of the population. Why put large sums of money into polyclinics (in London) and heath centres in other areas of the country to help a few people who don't want to take time off work to see a doctor, when that money could be put to use in the NHS that already exists and does a pretty good job as far as I am concerned. I've always understood that the way to get the best out of anything or anyone, is to ensure that the best use of the money available is made and that it should not be wasted on infrastructure and manpower that does not enhance the service provided. In other words, IF IT'S NOT BROKEN, DON'T FIX IT.
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