In England 70% of health spending goes on the 15 million people who suffer from one or more long-term conditions. The twin challenges of people living longer and with unhealthier lifestyles, such as smoking, alcohol and obesity, mean that this number is set to increase dramatically.
Since few of these people will ever get better, their conditions have to be managed with the right support, medication and the right medical approach. The problem is that doctors regard the issues as clinical issues and health experts miss opportunities to make lives better. For instance, much illness could be managed better if doctors thought of patients as people, not as clinical issues; if the form-filling were cut down; if there was help at home, even on a part-time basis; if there was as sympathetic ear for the person’s problems; if there was better care for dementia parents ( pretty appalling at present).
The National Health a Service recently organised meetings where health professionals were confronted by people with long term illnesses. The latter produced a huge number of ideas for improving care. It was the first time this had been done, and the reaction from the health professionals was along the lines, “goodness, we never thought of that”. (adapted from the a Guardian Weekly 10/11/2013).
The NHS is in the top rank of the world for efficiency, but scores low marks for genuine personal care. It’s as if the spirit or ghost of Epicurus had suddenly appeared to the doctors and administrators of the NHS, a hallelujah moment. Epicureanism stands for the humanist approach to managing people, with long term illnesses or not. It is nice to report osome good news!
And now to get American health professionals to sit and listen to their customers!
I was recently in a London and needed a blood test to establish whether I was getting shingles. I turned up at the surgery on a Friday morning and explained to the doctor that I was flying back to the US the following Tuesday, and was there any possibility of getting the results by Monday? “Yes”, he said, “we can do a full report on the results; call the surgery by mid- day on Monday”.
I not only got the results the day before I left, but received an interpretation from the doctor. The extent of the report was amazing in comparison to what is normal in the US (unless you ask and pay for it). And it all came at no expense to me! The speed and efficiency was amazing.
Complaints about the inefficiency of “socialized medicine” is so much ignorant nonsense. In some parts of the UK you have to wIt for elective surgery, for instance, but in the main the National Health a Service in the UK is responsive and efficient, only limited by a similar proportion of incompetent and uncaring people that you probably find in any health service.
The approach of extending health services to all Americans through the private, profit- motivated sector ( e.g Obamacare) was necessary for political reasons, but the American system, with its perverse incentives, will never be as good as the British system, except for the richest citizens.