Well, just when you thought that you had heard it all from the NHS it gives us another surprise.
Last week in the Bedford area thousands of people were left without GP cover while staff of most of the town’s surgeries attended one of their regular training courses Sick people of all ages and from across the town and surrounding area were directed to one ‘Walk-in Centre’ or as it was for those without transport a ‘walk to or taxi to centre’.
According to the Primary Care Trust (PCT), which is in charge of such matters, this is not even a one-off but a regular occurrence, happening every few weeks to keep health professionals up to speed on such issues as breastfeeding, diabetes and exercise.
Now correct me if I am wrong, but I was under the impression that we taxpayers fund expensive and lengthy courses to train doctors and nurses and would hope that they might by the end of up to seven years have a rough idea of what is expected of them.
I accept that there are developments and new ideas in most professions but surely it is up to individuals to ensure that they are up to speed as most of us do in our own time and without being hand held. After all, doctors must have more time on their hands as these days they rarely make house visits or provide weekend or out of hours service.
Failing that could they not stagger their training, as would be expected in most other professions, and, I assume, at the local hospitals.
The PCT said that the reason for these training sessions was to ensure patients received the best possible care and service.
I would have thought that being able to visit their GP’s surgery was a rudimentary part of this care.
I have heard and had personal experience of so many cases of people in this country having life threatening, and in some cases fatal illnesses, which were not picked up by their GPs, sometimes resulting in tragic consequences.
Indeed a national survey by the NHS Audit earlier this year said that one third of all cancer cases were initially missed by doctors.
So the fact that time is being given to breastfeeding, which is a choice and in a first world country such as ours by no means a necessity, is somewhat galling.
This is a perfect example of where if people need extra help and support it should be paid for privately and not given at tax payers expense.
Or with my cynical hat on, is it another way to save money as then those on low income are not provided with free formula milk? In any case I can’t see that breastfeeding has altered much in tens of thousands of years unless I have missed significant changes in the equipment so we should have a fair idea by now of how it works without extra lessons.
As a type 2 diabetic I am fully aware of what I need to do both to control and treat my condition and have not received any additional or different information since I was diagnosed ten years ago, so there is probably not much stuff on these courses worth passing on.
And if there was a problem I would quite like to be able to get hold of my doctor, not be told she is off on a training course.
If extra training is required then it should be in ensuring that serious and life threatening illnesses are quickly diagnosed and not dismissed.
That would be a skill worth learning more about.
IN my youth there was a pub my friends and I used as a meeting place. We enjoyed a few beers there before hitting the town in all its glitzy glory. The hostelry was the Three Cups in Newnham Street, Bedford.
The landlord was Ron Hogben.
He was the perfect landlord for us: friendly without being indulgent, calming of our wild spirit without being over-fussy.
Unlike some landlords of the time, he saw beyond the frayed jeans and long hair - those were the days - and accepted us for what we were.
Ron was a very fine landlord who sadly died last week. I, among many I should imagine, will mourn his passing.
