Hospital casualty departments always have an experienced trigage nurse who can assess the patient's condition, prioritise and determine what sort of treatment they are likely to need and who they should see. This is just as it should be. Our local health centre now has notices up to say that in future, that if you want to book an appointment to see a doctor, you should tell a receptionist about your problem and they will determine which doctor you should see. You also get a pre-recorded message explaining all this if you phone for an appoinment, before you get to speak to anyone. I believe this was brought in because patients were preferring to see who they considered to be their "own doctor" who they've been seeing for years and not one of the young "newbies," who've recently joined the practice, even if it means a wait of three or more weeks. "I understand the receptionists have been on a course." Well, the surgery was closed for a day "for training" a few weeks back. The patients have not taken to well to this, as I understand from a member of the staff, that the receptionists have been told to "mind their own business, just book me an appointment" so many times, they no longer bother to ask. It was a stupid idea in the first place.
The Hippocratic Oath is an oath of ethics historically taken by physicians. It is one of the most widely known of Greek medical texts. In its original form, it requires a new physician to swear, by a number of healing gods, to uphold specific ethical standards. Wikipedia I somehow doubt that any receptionist abides by this!!
As of now, complaints about pensions, water meters, and health care. The UK must be in as bad shape as the USA.
Well... Not exactly.. I can remember from my teens, Chris Barber who led a popular jazz band in the fifties at a concert I attended, announcing his new banjo player was American and he'd come over to England with his wife who needed an operation, which she could get here free on the NHS rather than have to pay for it in the USA. I guess thatt was just a demonstrstion of pride in the NHS. That's the bigget problem with the NHS now, far too many freeloaders coming here for treatment and not getting charged for it. We moan about the NHS, but they do provide a good service for the majority of the population. Eleven years ago I had a hip replacement. I had one of the new "plastic or whatever" hips. The operation was performed by a top surgeon. I was in a local hospital, I could have been put n a general ward, but I actually had a room to myself. I think I was in for about five days. He did a good job, you wouldn't know I'd had it done. I play golf three times a week if it isn't raining. Of course it was completely free. We contribute to the cost of pensions and the Health Service by a tax called National Insurance, deducted from our pay, if we are working, it's a sliding scale based on income. But it ceases at the age of 65. So being 69 when I had the operation I hadn't paid any N I for four years. At 65 you no longer have to pay a token amount for prescribed medicine which is £9. Children are exempt. Beat that!
