MEDICAL MATTERS

[Stanley]

Text message yesterday from surgery saying I had to ring to make an appointment for Diabetes Clinic. Rang them and I am in there next Tuesday. So some things are still working.....

[Tizer]

All the dental practices in Taunton have gone private. My cousin went to his a couple of weeks ago asking for an appointment to deal with his very painful toothache. They told him the first appointment would be in late December. He pointed out that he's paying for private treatment now, not NHS, but it didn't make any difference and other practices all have long waiting lists too.

A man came in and wanted treatment for his child who was in pain. When they told him the price he said it was far too expensive, he wanted the NHS price as previously. He was told they don't take NHS patients now. He pointed out that their web page has the NHS symbol on it so he expects them to give the NHS service. That answer was `Oh, that's there because we still have some on our list who haven't come in yet and registered for private treatment'.

Meanwhile, we get pestered by the surgery with emails trying to get us to take hygienist appointments even though we've told them we don't want such treatments. But today we got a different email as shown below - read it and keep in mind all the people, especially kids, who are in pain and having to wait ages for treatment and then cough up private patient payments...

Smile brighter this Christmas with our teeth whitening options.
Treat yourself or give the gift of a brighter smile this Christmas, with our range of teeth whitening treatments. Performed by our qualified and experienced team, you can feel confident that you'll receive the best possible care and a brighter, whiter smile in no time at all. We can offer a wide range of options to suit your needs and lifestyle. We also offer 0% finance options, meaning you can split the cost over 12 months interest free. To find out more, contact the practice today.

[Stanley]

The way this country is heading at present you can look forward to that sort of practice being extended across the whole of health care.....

[Sue]

All the dental practices in Taunton have gone private. My cousin went to his a couple of weeks ago asking for an appointment to deal with his very painful toothache. They told him the first appointment would be in late December. He pointed out that he's paying for private treatment now, not NHS, but it didn't make any difference and other practices all have long waiting lists too.

A man came in and wanted treatment for his child who was in pain. When they told him the price he said it was far too expensive, he wanted the NHS price as previously. He was told they don't take NHS patients now. He pointed out that their web page has the NHS symbol on it so he expects them to give the NHS service. That answer was `Oh, that's there because we still have some on our list who haven't come in yet and registered for private treatment'.

Meanwhile, we get pestered by the surgery with emails trying to get us to take hygienist appointments even though we've told them we don't want such treatments. But today we got a different email as shown below - read it and keep in mind all the people, especially kids, who are in pain and having to wait ages for treatment and then cough up private patient payments...

Smile brighter this Christmas with our teeth whitening options.
Treat yourself or give the gift of a brighter smile this Christmas, with our range of teeth whitening treatments. Performed by our qualified and experienced team, you can feel confident that you'll receive the best possible care and a brighter, whiter smile in no time at all. We can offer a wide range of options to suit your needs and lifestyle. We also offer 0% finance options, meaning you can split the cost over 12 months interest free. To find out more, contact the practice today.

My NHS dentist closed we had to join private. However they operate an insurance policy, the same as many dentists whereby we only pay the same as NHS charges. I have just had my first treatment…excellent. I was treated politely, efficiently, on time, new appointments made as needed not for 3 months hence. All treatment explained as it went along .I paid my NHS price and we came claim half of that back with SIMPLY HEALTH that we are registered with. AND. I got a scale and polish which is included in the NHS check up charges . I haven’t had one in years, I have always had to book a private Hygienist. The filling I had is guaranteed for a year.

[Stanley]

Once again, you know what I'm going to say don't you Sue. I am so glad all my teeth were taken out 65 years ago! I know people recoil in horror but it has always been good for me and given the choice I'd do it all again. I know why a full extraction and a set of gobblers was a favoured wedding present for a woman then.

[Stanley]

When I went to the pharmacy I expected to hear the usual spiel of 'You have to get the surgery to renew the prescription' but no such thing, they simply filled the repeat. This must mean that the results of my tests last week have been examined and found to be satisfactory. I have had no word form Park Road and won't until January 15th when the diabetes nurse will ring me at home.
I suppose I have to be grateful for small mercies....

[Big Kev]

When I went to the pharmacy I expected to hear the usual spiel of 'You have to get the surgery to renew the prescription' but no such thing, they simply filled the repeat. This must mean that the results of my tests last week have been examined and found to be satisfactory. I have had no word form Park Road and won't until January 15th when the diabetes nurse will ring me at home.
I suppose I have to be grateful for small mercies....

I like that my test results are all on the NHS app as soon as they're available, usually a couple of weeks before the follow up phone call

[Stanley]

I should look on there shouldn't I......

[Tripps]

A lady phoned into LBC today and described herself as a "Social Prescriber". Being curious I had a google and found this Social Prescriber

Good grief. I'm still getting over Physicians' Assistants.

Not sure if we have one at the Surgery here, or if I'd use one if there was, but putting cycnicism aside (not easy) I can see the value. It's a bit sad that one should be needed. The accompanying literature could easily rival that for the Low Traffic Neighbourhoods. No mean feat.

Try this for size - just one of hundreds of paragraphs.
Related to the above, understanding the level of people’s self-efficacy can support commissioners to put in place approaches to meet their population’s needs more appropriately. This can include targeting and allocation of resources more appropriately to provide more in-depth support to those people with low knowledge, skills and confidence to self-manage.

Good to see that there is personalised care for veterans in transition. That should help considerably in the curent recruitment crisis.

[Stanley]

I read that last one David and the thought that struck me was that all the matters covered in that thicket of verbiage was what would have been done by a good doctor and priest in days gone by.......
Times have changed and the task of writing up these new initiatives to fill holes in society has become a new cottage industry. I'm sure AI could do the job just as well and be indistinguishable from the human article.....

[PanBiker]

My sore toe problem is ongoing and has now progressed to a different level. A couple of weeks ago I noticed my right foot, ankle and lower calf swelling throughout the day, It eases overnight. I rang to see if I could see a doctor but was given a nurse appointment. She agreed that it wasn't right and measured a 3cm difference to my left leg. She said it was not likely to be a DVT as that would not ease overnight. She ordered up a full blood test which was done the next day and winged off. I heard nothing but looked on my NHS app and found that the results were there. They did a full blood count including, Urea and Electrolytes, Liver and Bone profile, GFR, (which is for Kidney function), Hba1c levels and NT-PRONP, (which is for heart function). All came back with normal levels.
I rang again today, (took 10 attempts), said I had got my blood results which were normal and asked what the next step was. At last, a phone consultation scheduled with a doctor who hopefully will decide what to do next. This is what I asked for in the first place nearly two months ago. My telephone appointment is with Dr Bryan, who seems to have the telephone straw today.

Just checked on MyGP app and the appointment is shown for today at 19.40 although the receptionist said it could be anytime.

[Big Kev]

Is a D-dimer test listed in the results? That's the test they did on me, it looks for bits of clot in the blood.

Got a call at 8 this morning, from Barnoldswick Medical Centre, postponing my 08:40 blood test. I rebooked for tomorrow morning as I was supposed to be going to Harrogate today, which has now been postponed until tomorrow (try and keep up ) so I called back. I'm now booked in at 1:30 today, can't complain about that

[PanBiker]

Benefits of seeing a doctor, even though the visit was a bit confusing. Dr Bryan rang me this morning at about 11am and wanted to see me at 2pm. No problem there, arrived at 13.55, three in the reception queue before me so I went to the auto book in machine. Shoved in my details as asked then it said I was early for my appointment which was supposedly at 17.35pm! Back to reception to check and was sent to the side window with a second operative who was waiting for her terminal to boot into the system, she said she wished that she could have a key to wind it up! I was just about to tell her about the discrepancy when Dr Bryan popped his head round the corner as his terminal had obviously had the notification that I had arrived at the time arranged.

Anyway, both shoes and socks off and a poke about, he noted that the low dose BP medication I was on had a potential side effect of swollen ankles so has decided to rule that possibility out. He has swapped me onto a different type to see if that helps. They are 1.5mg tablets, I have to take one a day for a week and then double up to two. I also have to have another blood test in three weeks to check Liver and Kidney function. That is already arranged. He printed me a prescription so that I could get it filled locally. I got it filled at Whitworths. I feel that there is now a plan in place.

Might beggar up my next blood donation but I will take a view of that into the New Year, I can always re-arrange that one. In answer to your question Kev, no. Contra indications against a blood clot.

[Stanley]

Worrying stuff Ian. I hope it gets sorted out as it is obviously bothering you.

[Tizer]

I hope the new tablets work for you Ian and that it gets sorted OK.

More on dentistry...
`NHS dentistry as we know it 'gone for good'' BBC
The traditional model of NHS dentistry is gone for good, experts are warning. The Nuffield Trust think tank said the service had been cut back so much it was now at the most perilous position in its 75-year history in England. It said restoring services would probably need an unrealistic amount of money and called for radical reform, suggesting NHS support may need to be completely scaled back for some adults. The government said it would be publishing a recovery plan soon.

Is this really news to anyone in Britain? Most people I know can't get NHS dental treatment and are forced to go private but the article makes it sound like some folk still have a choice. One of my relatives got severe toothache a while ago and had to wait a month or more for an appointment; then they told him he needed root canal treatment and the first appointment they can give him is in March 2024! He pointed out that he was now a private patient paying a lot of money and expected early treatment. That got him nowhere.

[Stanley]

It would appear that when Mr Pinder made the decision to advise me to have all my teeth out he was doing me a favour and future-proofing me. I have never regretted it. They tell me it's not possible now to be that radical. Pity, a full extraction could still be a good wedding present like it used to be a century ago.
I know.... I'm a dinosaur but mark this, I am a pain free dinosaur who has only spent £35 on my teeth in the last 64 years!
( We don't object to artificial replacements in any other part of our body so why the resistance to pot gobblers? )

[Big Kev]

MyDentist in Colne are currently taking on new NHS patients.

Please call the practice from 9:00am tomorrow on 01282 863 427 to register and book an appointment

Alternatively bob into the practice at 66 Albert road colne BB8 0AG

[Tizer]

MyDentist in Colne are currently taking on new NHS patients.

Can they provide the service online? Everything's online these days.

We don't object to artificial replacements in any other part of our body so why the resistance to pot gobblers?

When we all become AI robots or cyborgs we probably won't even need teeth but I'll bet there'll still be dentists offering to extract your damaged memory chip or circuit board for £1000 a go!

[Big Kev]

MyDentist in Colne are currently taking on new NHS patients.

Can they provide the service online? Everything's online these days.

[Tripps]

A couple of disturbing issues emerged yesterday.

Simon Webb showed that you can qualify as a doctor to the satisfaction of the BMA, by means of a (mainly) short online course based in the West Indies. Medical training

The new phenomenon of Physicians Assistant is paid more than a qualified junior doctor at early stages of their career. The Minister seemed unaware of this on Nic Ferrari's programme this morning, and I think their regulation is being looked into now, and seems to have been something of an afterthought.

I begin to wonder if it's becomng impossible to efficiently manage such an enormous organisation.

[Tizer]

This morning I heard someone on the radio supporting junior doctors say they earned £21,000 a year*. I couldn't believe that and looked up the numbers.
(*I've just had to edit that - Mrs Tiz said it was £21 an hour, not £21k a year )
I found this on MyHSN which provides data on the NHS for the public MyHSN

Ok. So, how much do junior doctors earn?
Year 1 (‘FY1’) – £29,384 per year
Year 2 (‘FY2’) – £34,012
Year 3 and 4 (‘CT1-2 / ST1-2’) – £40,257
Years 5 to 7 (‘ST3-5’) – £51,017
Years 8-10 (‘ST6-8’) – £58,398

Then I saw your post, Tripps, about Physicians Assistants. Couldn't find anything on the same site but this on gov.uk showing them starting at £44,000. That's more than a junior doctor earns after 4 years! LINK

[Tripps]

LBC have really got their teeth into this. Covered again this evening on the 'drive' show. Those are similar to the figures I heard this morning. The word 'insane' was frequently, and well used. The NHS propose to recruit another ten thousand PA's over the next fifteen years. Much of what was revealed was a shock to the incredulous presenter.

It seems the two grades are interchangeable in the case of locums. A locum PA costs about half what a locum GP would for a shift at a practice, though they can not prescribe or ask for scans so I don't see how they can interchange.. The Practice is a profit making business - so why not? The PA's are encouraging patients to address them as 'Doctor'. No one asked what would happen if the patient asked for their qualifications, and demanded to see a real GP.

The GMC have written to the Minister (Victoria Atkins) - asking that a pause and a rethink be initiated on the whole scheme. They are concerned that the group is not yet regulated. I learn that there are also other 'pseudo' doctors - for instance 'Advanced Clincal Practitioners'.

I have found that the surgery website usually lists the Doctors and their qualifications and when where they were obtained. That's useful. I hope it still continues to be the case.

Meanwhile try to avoid all doctors would be good advice. . . .

[Stanley]

All the above posts really valuable but so depressing. The root of what is happening is that the government has been caught with its trousers down having failed to train enough doctors. The cure of course is to invest more in training and get more recruits on the courses but that takes time, 7 to 20 years to make a significant difference. The 'answer' to this is steal doctors off other countries by offering better wages and conditions.... That's expensive but if a new class of medical assistants is created with half skills and wages to traditional doctors they can be fobbed off to take up the slack in provision of doctors. I object to that, I think it's a con-trick. I have more faith in nurse practitioners, I think they are well trained.
David is right.... avoid doctors! I try to do this as far as possible. To the extent that I have refused further treatment for my cancer and told my doctor why so I have already put my money where my mouth is.
I was brought up to regard all doctors as gods. Many years experience have modified that belief. To the extent that the last time I was in hospital I discharged myself against their advice. You have to put your money where your mouth is. If you don't believe you are getting value for money, reject what is offered.

[Big Kev]

Trip to the MRI unit at Burnley today to see if the drugs are working on the tumour

[Stanley]

Good luck with the result Kev!