Well. Here we go again. More knocking copy. This time from an organisation (NICE) that does not have a particularly blameless record of good decision making.
Apparently GPs are prescribing too many antibiotics for Upper Respiratory Tract Infections. We have been told to cut our rates of prescribing. This has been linked with the emergence of 'superbugs' in the UK. Certainly, our rates of MRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) are amongst the highest in Europe.
Naughty GPs.
Naughty, naughty GPs.
NICE says you are to blame. NICE has been set up by the Government and has lots of important people sitting on it.
So the message is that we are using too many antibiotics, we have a lot of 'superbugs' and its all the fault of GPs.
As you can see from the graph above, antibiotic usage in UK is not particularly high. It is less than:
Greece, France, Luxemburg, Portugal, Slovakia, Italy, Belgium, Croatia, Poland, Spain, Ireland, Iceland, Israel, Finland, Slovenia, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Norway.
We score very well compared with Southern European states. We do have a significant problem with MRSA, but this is multifactorial, and I would suggest antibiotic usage in primary care has a limited role to play. Many of us believe that hospital overcrowding, inadequate hygiene measures in privatised cleaning contractors and target driven medicine have a much greater part to play.
These are all part of Government policy. NICE is set up and staffed by Government. Hmmm. I wonder why Government are trying to blame the GPs for something that is a consequence of their own policies?
We will continue to try to reduce antibiotic prescribing, but this is an individual decision, made with doctor and patient, and based on much information. In a patient-led system, the patients are the ones who are asking for them: and if I don't prescribe for Jeremy or Jemima, I might end up on some nasty site (like iwantgreatcare) being castigated for not doing what my patients want.
NICE is a typical Ivory Towers organisation. They sit in their London Offices pontificating to Jobbing Doctors out here who do the work.
It is the old format of GOBSAT
Good Old Blokes Sitting Around a Table.
And sometimes GOBSAT turns into GOBSHITE.
.jpg)
2 comments:
I see, by the fact of a little name borrowing, that you read my post before you wrote yours. I hope that I got my facts right because I am really fed up with all the attacks that our doctors, and particularly our GPs, are facing at the present time. The problems that the NHS are facing are caused in the main by this government constantly moving the goal posts and by their continual imposition of targets.
I am not a target, nor a customer, I am a patient. I feel that I have had very good service from the NHS in the last 10 years for this is the period during which I have had real need of them.
I have this morning attended a London hospital for an outpatients appointment. My GP referred me three weeks ago, and today was my appointment. My consultant was unavoidably detained elsewhere, so I was seen by his senior registrar who apologised for the fact that his boss was not there to see me, then took down my medical history, made note of my symptoms and carried out a physical examination. At all times he told me what he was doing and answered any questions that I had. While we were having our post-examination discussions the consultant arrived, apologised to me for not being there in time for my appointment, conferred with the registrar and confirmed the diagnostic test for which I was to be referred. The consultant then again apologised, found a card and wrote his secretary's number on it and told me to make an appointment through her for me to see him after the diagnostic tests.
The way that I was treated by both doctors this morning was first class, and the nurses in the clinic were exceedingly helpful with sorting out the paperwork that I needed and directing me to the department that I needed to go to in order to make the appointment for the diagnostic tests.
The very nice young lady who sorted out this appointment was friendly and helpful. She made sure that I was aware of the procedures that I needed to follow before my tests and what would happen after them. So I now have all the paperwork and medication that I require for my diagnostic tests that will be carried out in 9 days time.
I do not feel that the treatment that I got was in any way unusual; I have always found the staff at any of the hospitals that I have attended, and unfortunately I have need quite a few trips to hospital in the last 10 years, to be helpful and considerate. Yes, there may be the odd one who is having a bad day, but in the main I have been more than impressed.
It is for this reason that I am absolutely fed up with the amount of flak that doctors, nurses and other NHS staff have been facing, particularly over the last few months. Ladies and gentlemen, I take my hat off to you for doing a difficult job in what are sometimes exceedingly trying circumstances.
According to the WHO, France has the best Health Care in the world. Mmmmm, must work this one through. If it is evidence based medicine: then so called virus should not just be a hunch but a laboratory finding. The same goes for bacteria. The government has no courage to say anything about antibiotics and antiprotozoals in animal feeds: because of the farm and supermarket lobby and no one wants low feed/meat conversion. To name a couple: Dimetridazole (DMZ) and ionophores family of drugs are causing major concerns for non therapeutic use in animals. Are we going to see the return of Rheumatic Heart and similar conditions? You win some and lose some.
The Cockroach Catcher
Post a Comment