The NHS is Shit*

You know, anyone would think the NHS does nothing but kill people! A quick look at the Health page of BBC news shows so many negative stories its ridiculous, at the most there are 1 or 2 positive stories (which are usually more about scientific advancement than the achievements of the NHS). We all know there are problems with the NHS and that improvements are needed, after all, there are usually 3 or 4 stories every week in the papers about the failures of the NHS. When was the last time you read something positive about the NHS? What about all the lives saved by the hard working doctors and nurses? I can't even remember the last time I read a story praising the work of the NHS or its workers. People wonder why morale is low in the NHS, the negative picture painted by the media certainly doesn't help.

The NHS should always be striving to improve, if it wasn't it would be a failure. Things cannot be improved without identifying the failures within the system but when these failures are picked up by the media, the onslaught begins. Doctors seem to be easy pickings at the moment for the media, barely a day goes by without reading a story about GPs and their "huge salaries for hardly any hours". What about the good work that the GPs do? Of course we don't hear about this, the media aren't interested in positive things.

Yesterday we heard that the NHS spends £8.2bn on prescription drugs, well of course it does, what is is supposed to do? Give out sweeties instead? Sure there are problems, in that at least some of this figure is made up of unnecessary branded medications, or even drugs which just get wasted. But what about the millions of people who rely on these drugs, nowhere in the article does it mention that this £8.2bn improves the quality, or even saves the lives of millions of people in the UK. There are improvements to be made of course, encouraging doctors to prescribe cheaper, generic alternatives rather than branded drugs. Putting the price on medications is a good idea just to give the general public an idea about how much some of these things cost. But seriously, the way these stories are reported in the media, anyone would think that the NHS may as well just thrown £8.2bn down the toilet. This is obviously the media's fault, everybody knows that negative stories sell far more papers than positive ones.

What worries me is that people listen to and on the whole believe almost anything the media tells them. As a result, people are going to start turning against doctors, not in a raging mob storming the hospitals sort of way, much more subtle than that but it will have consequences and they sure as hell won't be good.

Even politics these days is more about the media than the actual policies, Mr Brown and Mr Cameron are more worried about their media image than they are about improving things in the UK. The Labour party don't run this country - the fucking media do!

This country is fucked up.

* I don't think the NHS is Shit, I was merely paraphrasing the numerous stories littering the headlines about how rubbish the NHS is.

What Not to Wear

From Jan 1st 2008, our hospital trust has implemented a 'bare below the elbow' policy following advice from the Dept of Health. A detailed email was sent to all the medical staff (whom this encompasses i'm not sure, it may just be the doctors or it may-be all of the people who come into contact with patients). Medical staff are no longer allowed to wear: long sleeved shirts (or at least they must be rolled up), ties (unless tucked in), jackets (this is going to piss the consultants off), watches, or anything else below the elbow, a solitary ring (gold band) may be worn.

A recent BBC article covered this story, in particular with regards to doctors not being allowed to wear watches. Research showed that doctors were unable to estimate accurately pulse and breathing rate. Personally I think the restriction on watches is going a bit too far, I hate not wearing a watch, especially as the BBC article says, there are very few clocks around the hospital. I can't see many of the consultants being willing to follow the watch part of this policy but I guess we'll have to wait and see. Particularly as many don't even bother to alcohol gel their hands between patients.

What's next? A latex skin tight uniform which can be wiped down between each patient?

This topic brings up another argument as to whether doctors, having disposed of the stereotypical white coat should have a uniform. Personally I think we should all be able to wear scrubs all of the time, but apparently that doesn't match with the professional ethos that doctors are supposed to emit.

I suppose it gives students something else to worry about in OSCEs, i'll be sure to make a point that "I'm observing the bare below the elbow policy".