My point was about the marginal prostate treatments and biopsies which doctors admit aren’t really necessary, and which cause enormous stress, anxiety and physical pain to their unlucky recipients. The NHS dole them out because they’ve got the money and those yachts aren’t going to just pay for themselves
Yes, I do remember those words every time I go into an NHS hospital and see absurd delays, bureaucracy, checkups and unnecessary procedures. Take a walk through a London Teaching hospital and you’ll be horrified, then talk with Consultants as well as Juniors about the misuse of resources that they see on a daily basis
www.bmj.com
theconversation.com
Don't blame the clinicians, instead blame the fear mongers in the popular press for breeding the demand for PSA testing, and the clinical negligence lawyers exploiting the unfortunate patients who were not offered such low value investigations!Yes, I do remember those words every time I go into an NHS hospital and see absurd delays, bureaucracy, checkups and unnecessary procedures. Take a walk through a London Teaching hospital and you’ll be horrified, then talk with Consultants as well as Juniors about the misuse of resources that they see on a daily basis
Prostate cancer ‘test by request’ drives overdiagnosis, argue experts | BMJ
Most high income countries, including the UK, do not have a national prostate cancer screening programme, but instead allow men without symptoms to get a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test if they wish, after talking to their doctor. But experts writing in The BMJ today argue that these shared...
Nope. The doctors, nurses and administrators are the only people responsible, as they scoop money out of the pot of free cash.
I’m not arguing against your point, and instead support it (see later), but your claim about men asking for prostate tests sounds like an unfair generalisation. I’ve had just about every test possible but would certainly not request any. I suppose that going through all that to find absolutely nothing should be a relief - but I’m not convinced.Yes, I do remember those words every time I go into an NHS hospital and see absurd delays, bureaucracy, checkups and unnecessary procedures. Take a walk through a London Teaching hospital and you’ll be horrified, then talk with Consultants as well as Juniors about the misuse of resources that they see on a daily basis
Prostate cancer ‘test by request’ drives overdiagnosis, argue experts | BMJ
Most high income countries, including the UK, do not have a national prostate cancer screening programme, but instead allow men without symptoms to get a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test if they wish, after talking to their doctor. But experts writing in The BMJ today argue that these shared...
Treatment can do more harm than good for prostate cancer − why active surveillance may be a better option for some
People with low-risk prostate cancer are more likely to die from something else. Overdiagnosis and overtreatment can lead to life-changing complications.
Accepted.
...who are the ones that set the tone and culture for the organisation, so while relatively small in number they have a disproportionate effect when they measure the "wrong" things.
Like most people, my main experience of the NHS is as an end user, but I also have friends who work or have worked in the NHS, one or two in very senior medical positions, and their insights are both interesting and concerning. I get the impression that they generally do their best to achieve good results but there is a high degree of frustration amongst many of them, often directed at managers or processes. With no sense of irony, almost without exception they will share tales of considerable waste and wasteful processes, while simultaneously insisting that if the NHS had more funding, everything would be better.
She suffers from delusions of aququacy!
The big problem is there is no single test for prostate cancer, the blood test can be positive but may also be positive if you are active sexually, on the wrong tablets and a whole host of other reasons. The PSA blood test at best may only be 55% accurate so a proper diagnosis may involve several tests some of which may be invasive.
A one in seven possibility of a PSA reporting falsely - positive or negative - is what I was told when I asked for the PSA test. My result was negative so I view that as an 86% probability that I don't have prostate cancer (which killed my father far too soon) and that will be re-evaluated in 12 months with a repeat test. I was offered the 'finger' test but after discussion re negative test result and no symptoms the decision was as outlined - retest in one year from now. The NHS I'm told wants to move toward a preventative model. We need to work with it to that end. Discuss the implications of the non invasive tests and don't assume that the first port of enquiry is your anus - it isn't!
Adequacy!
Definite apprentice terrorist.Well, this is an interesting development:
Axel Rudakubana: Southport murder accused facing terror charge
Axel Rudakubana is accused of producing the poison ricin and possessing a study of an Al Qaeda training manual.www.bbc.co.uk
The authorities seem to be continuing to do everything they can to avoid categorising the atrocious actions perpetrated by Axel Rudakubana as "terrorism". Perhaps that's something to do with their emphatically denying that the stabbings of the young girls was a terrorist act in their immediate aftermath and during the subsequent unrest?
If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck...
I quite liked your original post.
