Viva For Your Health

According to a recent study by the Cato Institute of Britainâ??s National Health Service (NHS), there is no perfect scenario when it comes to health care.  On one side of the spectrum is the desire to have unlimited medical care to extend oneâ??s life as much as possible, and the other end of the spectrum is to ration care to control spending.

The NHS is a centralized government version of the one-payer system in England, and it pays directly for health care and finances the system through general tax revenues.  Most physicians and nurses are government employees.  Below are some key statistics to keep in mind when looking at a government system without competition.

• Waiting Times. Presently as many as three quarters of a million Britons are waiting to be treated in Britainâ??s hospitals. Cancer patients, for example, will wait as long as eight months before being treated. A byproduct of that wait is that maybe 20 percent of colon cancer patients who were initially considered â??treatableâ? when first diagnosed, will become â??incurableâ? as a direct result of all that waiting. Even more alarming is the fact that as many as 40 percent of cancer patients have never even been seen by an oncology specialist.

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• 50-70% wait longer than 18 months to see specialists. In 2008 Britainâ??s goal was for a wait time of no more than 18 weeks.  The study showed that only 30-50 percent of patients actually received treatment within the 18-week time frame. Whatâ??s worse is that only 20 percent of orthopedic and trauma patients received care from a specialist within the18-week target window.

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• Rationed care. Not surprisingly, a direct result of Britainâ??s over-taxed system is that certain types of care for more expensive procedures such as open heart surgery and kidney dialysis are now â??rationed.â? Even more alarming is that patients deemed â??too illâ? or â??too oldâ? for a procedure to be â??cost-effectiveâ? are being denied treatment altogether. One government â??solutionâ? being proposed is that the NHS be allowed to refuse treatment to those with â??unhealthy lifestylesâ? such as smokers and the overweight.

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• Widening gap between NHS and private insurance. Another solution is â??competitionâ? in the form of private health insurance. Currently about 10 percent of Britons have private health insurance, and that number is growing, as more and more Britons seek to gain access to a wider choice of healthcare providers and avoid waiting lists.

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• Growing demand for private health care. Studies conducted on the British public indicated that 63 percent felt the need for healthcare reform is â??urgent,â? and another 24 percent believe that it is at least â??desirable.â? Even more telling, however, is that 60 percent of Britons believe that making it easier for patients to spend their own money on health care would â??improve quality.â?

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Things you will want to know about Britain before you visit

• The best times to visit are May, June, September and October
• Heathrow Airport handles 67 million passengers a year
• Britain is 35 miles from France
• 80,000 umbrellas are lost annually on the London Underground
• Britain receives on average between 20-35 inches of rain per year
• Nowhere in Britain is more than 75 miles from the sea
• Cars drive on the left hand side of the road
• Voltage is 240 â?? do not use your 110 American appliances!

An alternative career in health services can be pursued in a quality institution after a lot of search. Established in 1825 the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Services has been functioning as one of the oldest teaching hospitals in the country. For building up a blooming career in health services the institute offers various avenues.

Seeking an alternative career in health services requires searching through a number of quality institutions to find out the best avenues offered in the line. Established way back in the year 1825, the George Washington University School of Medicine and health services academics was granted the use of Washington Infirmary by the Congress in 1844. Standing as one of the oldest general teaching hospitals in the country, the school is now a part of the George Washington Medical Center.

Component Institutes for medical service aspirants

With the university hospital, health science library highly experienced medical faculty associates as well as the school of public health and health services there are ample opportunities for building up the career in health services for the aspirant students.

Course Structure supporting health career

Four years semi traditional course is followed in the school helps gradual build up of health career. Introduction to clinical setting in the first two years besides teaching on basic science helps providing a platform for future improvements. The focus of building up health career would be on -

• Studies in normal human biology and function including basic medical science courses in the first year itself become a good learning ground for students.

Focus on abnormal human biology, pharmacology, pathology, microbiology, and psychopathology.

Initial studies carried on in core curriculum and thereafter the students migrating to interdisciplinary organ system.

Adequate clerkship in the major clinical disciplines as well as primary care clerkship.

Studies including compulsory “acting internship” in medicine, pediatrics or family practices courses in anesthesiology, emergency medicine, and neuroscience

Studies in urology, orthopedics, otolaryngology, pediatric surgery, as well as ophthalmology.

Carrying out a course in medical decision making including one didactic course.

Additional training is provided in affiliate institutions in United States and abroad.

Unique Programs for alternative health care career

• It grows in conjunction with mainstream health care needs.

• Energy healing, herbal medicine, acupuncture, aromatherapy, naturopathy are particular areas of alternative health care.

• Combined studies like MD-PhD and GWBS programs help build up an alternative career of the student in the field of medical science.

In midst of the diverse socio-cultural land of America, experience of minorities with their historical visages has always been rendered execrably pathetic with their health rates deteriorating with each passing decade.

Many social factors like racial subjugation, poverty and inaccessibility of government resources are rendering them more vulnerable as compared to people belonging to other communities.

In-spite of having highest level of health problems, members belonging to minority racial groups are least inclined in utilizing health services. Recognizing this fact, National Institute of Health time and again announces grants to induce organizations dealing with the health related issues among minorities to reach their doors imbibing in them importance of health care and maintenance. Promotion of health among males was one of their initiatives making racial and ethnic minority males as their target.

This funding opportunity was opened for those who proposed to expand the research towards the health of minority men. The research had to be conducted to increase understanding of socio-demographic, social and cultural factors responsible for the deteriorating health rate among males and their subpopulations. Its other purpose was catering to the applications, which had been imploring upon the development and testing of health promoting devices to reduce health disparities among the racially and ethnic diverse populations.

The total project period announced was of two years with direct costs allowed up to

$275,000 over an R21 two-year period, with not more than $200,000 as direct costs was allowed to spend in one year.

Applicants could also request for the direct costs of up to $25,000 modules, with the direct costs limitation of $275,000 in a combined two-year award period. Applicants had to follow the policies as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Any public/State Controlled sectors or institutions of Higher education referred as Nonprofit status with 501(c)(3) IRS Status or Nonprofit without 501(c)(3) IRS Status and many small businessmen or profit oriented organizations, any state government, tribal government or any other organizations or institutions working for the upliftment of the minorities were deemed eligible for the grants to carry on with the said project.

Even individuals having skills or knowledge and necessary resources to move forward with the proposed project were also invited to work along with his/her organization and individuals having disabilities were also applicable to apply.

For the sex related diseases too, there was a grant proposal to evaluate Locally Developed (Homegrown) HIV Prevention Interventions for African-American and Hispanic/Latino Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM). The grant for the same was announced on 27th January 2009.

This is the story of ‘Rosie” who had to wait seven months, because of a dire Irish Health Service, to see a consultant for bowel cancer.

This brave ladies’ real name was Susie Long and she passed away in October 2007…she really never had a chance because she didn’t have Health Insurance. She left behind two teenage children.

Below is her letter to our national broadcaster RTE…Joe Duffy’s Liveline Program.

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Dear Joe,

Today I had my 12th session of chemo. I got to talking to the partner of a man who was also getting chemo. She told me that when her partner’s GP requested a colonoscopy for him he was put on the waiting list. She then phoned the hospital and told them he had private health insurance and he was seen three days later. He had bowel cancer that was advanced, but had not broken through the bowel wall and spread to other organs. She said the tumour was the size of a fist and what made him go to the doctor (apart from her nagging) was he started to lose weight rapidly. Thank goodness they got it in time and he’s going to recover.

I then came home, flicked on the tv and got into bed. The first ad on the tv was from the government telling people that bowel cancer can kill, but not if caught in time. If Bertie Ahern or Mary Harney or Michael McDowell were within reach I would have killed them. Literally. I’m not joking.

I don’t have private health insurance. It’s a long story, so I’ll start at the beginning.

I’ve suffered from digestive complaints for years. It started out with being unable to eat in the mornings or when my stomach felt tense. I’d feel too queasy. Then I got heartburn after just about everything I ate. I lived on Rennies. Then, in 2005, I got a lot of diahrea and after a few months it became constant and blood accompanied some of my bowel movements. I went to my GP clinic in the Summer of 2005. Probably about 2 months after the blood started appearing. I look back now and feel stupid for delaying for 2 months, but I wasn’t sure if the blood was caused by piles, which my late mother suffered from. I was 39 years old and had read in books and heard a doctor say on tv that bowel cancer doesn’t affect people under 50. Anyway, my normal GP was on holiday, but I saw his colleague, and she immediately sent a letter to the local hospital requesting a sonogram and a colonoscopy. Within weeks I was called for a sonogram and was diagnosed with a gallstones. That explained the queasiness and the heartburn. I expected to soon be called for the colonoscopy. I waited through the autumn, then through the start of winter. No word on the colonoscopy and no word on when my gall bladder would be removed.

In November I started to get serious lower abdominal pain after eating. I phoned the consultants secretary and asked if I was on the waiting list. She assured me I was and would be called soon. In December I started to rapidly lose weight. This definitely wasn’t like me! I love my food, Joe. I phoned the hospital again after Christmas. Again I was told that I was still on the list and would definitely be called soon. (I later found out that that consultant had retired and they had just hired a new one). Joe, from November to the end of February I was in agony. Apart from the pain and diahrea I was tired all the time. I’d literally got out of bed to go to work at 4.30 in the afternoon. Came home around 10.30pm, ate my dinner (I couldn’t eat before work because it’d make me too sick to do my job), tidied the kitchen and went to bed again. I was miserable.

Finally, on February 28, 2006, four days after I turned 40, I was called for a colonoscopy.

I woke up in the middle of the procedure and saw on a large screen, them probing a blob on my colon. They were taking a biopsy. But I didn’t have to wait for the results. I knew what I had. Soon after I met my wonderful consultant, Dr George Nassim. What a gem he is. Friendly, compassionate and funny on top of being a great surgeon. I felt like I was in good hands. I didn’t panic for more than a few hours after I was told that I had cancer. They can do loads of things to save cancer patients these days. I was young and strong. I’d been a vegetarian since I was 16. I ate mostly healthy foods, although eating at night was a serious no no when it came to my weight. I went for walks a few times a week. I felt I could beat this.

I was booked in for surgery to remove the tumour. I was given a stoma, which means I’ll have to poop in a bag for the rest of my life. I found that really difficult to handle. More difficult than the cancer sometimes. I was in St Lukes hospital for over 50 days last year. (I had to have a second surgery due to complications) Recovery was hard, but I did it. I shared a room with two lovely women who also had cancer. They have since died. In another ward I was in I was next to another woman who had cancer. She died too. The staff at St Lukes in Kilkenny are the most kind, hardworking people I’ve ever met. In March, in between surgeries, I was sent to the Mater in Dublin and had a porto-cath put in for putting the chemo through, and a PET Scan to see if the cancer had spread. If it hadn’t, I’d live. If it had spread to other organs, I’d die. It had spread to my lungs.

I felt bad enough to go to the doctor. She did what she was supposed to do. She told them I had diahrea and blood from my rectum. But what could they do? So do lots of people. Should I have skipped the list ahead of those other people with the same symptoms? I don’t think so. Should there be a list so long that it puts people at risk of dying? No. Definitely not.

I know in my heart and soul that when I started to feel really, really bad, especially in from December to February 2006, is when the cancer broke through the wall of my bowel. Of course I can’t prove it. But I know. Because it broke through the bowel I have been given 2 to 4 years from diagnosis to live. The chemo is to prolong life, not to save it. I have 3 years, tops, to go. Despite that, I’m going to try my best to make it for 5 more til my youngest turns 18. He needs me too much now. My husband has suffered right along side of me in his own way knowing that the woman he loves will be dead soon. My 18 year old daughter has been told and has gone quiet and doesn’t want to talk about it. But I know she’s scared. I haven’t told my 13 year old son yet. He’s too young to handle it. The South East Cancer Foundation in Waterford have been very helpful and will help us when the time is right to do and say the “right” things.

I don’t blame the wonderful people who work in St Lukes in Kilkenny. They work with what they are given. St. Lukes has the best A+E unit in the country. I had to use it three times in 2006 and twice with my son (nothing serious, thankfully). What did the government do? Threaten to shut it down. They also threatened to shut down the maternity unit AFTER spending millions to improve it!! That would mean Carlow women would have to travel to already overcrowded hospitals in Dublin and Kilkenny women would have to travel to Waterford, which is grand if you live in South Kilkenny. The rest could lump it and birth at the side of the road if necessary.

Twice I had to listen to two women die next to me in hospital because there’s no place for people nearing death and their loved ones to go to die and grieve in dignity.

My time in the Mater was dreadful. I was terrified I’d pick up MRSA because it was filthy. I was put on a ward with cardiac patients, mostly men, who because of their ill health were unable aim too well when they went to the toilet. Once when I used the toilet my pajama bottoms soaked up urine up to my ankles. Even though I was still sick and weak I still tried to hover over the toilet so I wouldn’t have to touch it. I wasn’t able to hover and hold up my pajama legs at the same time. I had just given my sister-in-law two sets of pj’s to take home and wash and had nothing to change into. I rinsed them out in the grimey sink and wore them damp until she returned the next day with clean ones.There was excrement stuck to the sides of the toilet for days at a time. Water flooded the shower room, soaked my clean pjs and towel that were on the floor outside the shower and ran out into the hall. After that happened the first time I learned to take a chair in to the shower room to put my stuff on. At least I knew THAT floor got water and soap put on it regularly. The man in the bed next to me, who had suffered a triple bi-pass was served up a greasy fry for tea when he had specifically ordered fish because it was healthier. On the third day he refused to eat it when they wouldn’t give him what he had ordered and went without eating on principle. I was vegetarian and so was served cheese on crackers and cheese sandwiches (fake cheese slices on white bread) for all but two meals. They brought one of the two nicer meals when I was fasting and not allowed to eat it. My suspicion is that the catering has been privatised, although I could be wrong. The staff, apart from one really nasty nurse, were lovely.

Should I blame anyone for my hard luck? I’ve thought about it over the last year and have tried to be reasonable about it. After all, I waited to get Christmas over with before I phoned the hospital for a second time asking to be seen. But today, when I heard that a very nice man who was in the same, if not worse condition, than me when he went to his GP is going to live because he had private health insurance and I’m going to die because I didn’t, I had to bite my tongue. I’m happy he’s going to live. He deserves to live. But so do I. Then I came home and watched that ad which told people to hurry up and get checked out for bowel cancer because it will save their lives, and I fucking lost it.

I’ve finally reached the angry stage, I guess. Who am I angry at? I’ll tell you, Joe. The health service has been in the hands of Fianna Fail and the PD’s for years and all they can think to do is put resources into privatisation. They don’t have the ability to change structures in the public sector that would put more resources toward patient care. But it’s not just the politicians. I’m also angry at every single voter who voted for Fianna Fail and the PDs because they thought they’d get a few more shillings in their pockets but were too greedy and stupid to realise that that money they saved in wage taxes would be made up with stealth taxes. We all knew before the last election what their health policies were and the majority of people ignored this and voted for them anyway. Maybe they thought this would never happen to them. Or maybe because so many have private health insurance they just didn’t care because they were alright, Jack.

I never dreamed I’d get cancer, let alone die from it. But I was wrong. My message to anyone with symptoms of bowel cancer is go to your GP immediately. If you, like me, don’t have health insurance, pester them until they hate you, go to your politicians and beg them to help, go to the media, get a solicitor to threaten to sue the government and the hospital if they don’t get you in soon for a colonoscopy. Otherwise, the people who love you might lose you and you’ll not get to do all the things you planned in life.

I’m writing to you because the way this country is run leads me to believe that contacting a radio show is the only way to try to change things like this. I hope that when Ms SUV and Mr Builder goes into the voting booth, they’ll think about me, my husband and especially my children. My husband is a decent man. He works full time in a good job and I worked part-time in a job I loved that helped people, but didn’t pay well. It depended on government money to help women and children in crisis, so of course couldn’t pay me well. We know what Bertie, Michael, Micheal and Mary’s priorities are.

Despite 1 1/2 incomes we couldn’t afford VHI or Bupa. But even if we could have we wouldn’t have gotten it because we believed (and still do) that all people should get good care despite their incomes. We thought jumping queues was wrong. We’re socialists…just like Bertie. Ha Ha. Now I feel like vomiting and it’s not the chemo!

From a Cancer Patient in Kilkenny.