Are we really becoming a nation of neurotic mothers? This is a question I asked myself a lot 10 years ago, when my son was sick and yet no doctor would take the time to listen to me. He had an ongoing cough, every cold went to his chest, he was diagnosed with asthma initially, then went to bronchitis, he was given antibiotics & steroid inhalers, then diagnosed with atypical pneumonia, 3 more courses of antibiotics followed and still no improvement.
Over my years in practice as a homeopath I have come to realise that we parents know our children, we know what is best for them and we know beyond all doubt when they are not well. As a parent (or a patient) it is frustrating when we are allocated our 5 minute slot with the GP, only to leave feeling at best unheard, and often neurotic.
I’ve sat in GP appointments where my doctor has googled my symptoms, where I have been told completely incorrect information, a diagnosis off the back of a blood test, only to find it was wrongly interpreted. Symptoms were all in my head and that I shouldn't google! I have to say I have little faith in my GP. Don’t get me wrong, the NHS is a wonderful resource, we are lucky to have it, it saves lives, there is no doubt about this. But for other less serious health issues I feel it fails many.
Daily I hear stories from my patients about how they and their children are lost in a system of contradictory advice, handed out suppressive medications and often patronised by consultants. I know the system is overstretched. I know the intent is to help, but the ethos of modern medicine is a flawed one. Maybe I am biased from my experience, but time has shown me I am not alone in this.
I came to realise some time ago that we must invest in our own healthcare, to a degree. Sure the NHS is free, but if something isn’t helping your particular condition, do you still keep using it? Many of us are not wealthy and the idea of paying for healthcare when a free option is available is somewhat irritating. Many times the people I treat have been through the medical system, on and off of many drugs, and yet when they come to me they say are still in the same place health-wise, or worse.
We budget for a lot of things in life, food, mortgage, holidays etc. We don’t tend to include healthcare in that budget, yet I would argue that health is as important as eating and having a roof over our head. We have to take responsibility for our health. Not buying that Costa Coffee every day would pay for an osteopath, homeopath, chiropractor etc…
We need to ask ourselves this. If the NHS wasn’t free, would we still be prepared to pay for the treatments we get? If the answer is ‘No’ then it’s time to reassess the situation. That’s what I did 10 years ago, and my son got better. I stopped the antibiotics as they were not working, he had been on 4 different ones over a month, I found a homeopath and within 2 weeks his lungs cleared and to this day he has never had any cold go to his chest.
If we could use additional support for our conditions alongside the NHS, or go elsewhere if they weren't helping us, then this would take the pressure off the NHS. If we stopped stockpiling drugs and only took prescriptions for what we needed this would help the NHS. We need to preserve this service by taking a bit more responsibility where we can.
We will always want and need the skills of the nurses, doctors and surgeons, the diagnostics, blood tests, surgeries, midwifery services etc...but for many conditions we also need to know when to try another approach for ourselves and our family.