Coming to an NHS hospital near you. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/h...therapists-banned-from-touching-patients.html
LMAO... all from civilized, democratic and scientific UK... The first world is no more what it used to be! Osu!
Hmm. So from what I actually read in that article, it appears that the online information is for those who have not been referrred to a specialist. Those who are referred to a specialist, see one - probably quicker than before since all the malingerers are busy complaining about how they're expected to see a website. Please people, try to actually read between the lines.
Oh wait sorry, got distracted and read the article on Virgin healthcare taking over community care in Surrey, that one is what I meant. I'm not sure how I feel about the physio, it looks like it places an automated delay in how quickly people can be referred by the GP and also limits the number of times they can be seen a year, but I don't know how this stacks up to existing NHS practice in that location.
I'm a litle torn about this set up. I don't think that any patient is getting thorough physiotherapy and even when seen the service is one that is focused on self care without examination by a physiotherapist. I have no problem with patients being given advice and guidance or using a web based service to help them along the way. I do have a problem with them being asked to wait for treatment and also not being examined appropriately. The use of specialists and GP's is fine but I have seen/worked with both these professionals and I am not convinced that patients will get a thorough evaluation before being placed on some sort of self-treatment program. An easy example would be someone with a sore shoulder. Sometimes it's from a soft-tissue injury, sometimes it's referred pain from the neck and other times it's a displacement in one of the joints in the shoulder complex. All could produce shoulder pain and all are managed in a different way. The clearest way to determine what the appropriate treatment , even if self treatment is appropriate, is by performing a physical examination and seeing which movements/tests reproduce the patients complaints. Not examining may make people suffer for longer and do little else other than make private practitioners such as myself much busier as people migrate to the private system out of dissatisfaction. Personally I support the NHS and do not want to see it hampered by unproven theoretical approaches any more than already exists. I will make a living either way. At the moment I deal with people all the time who's problems have been missed under a similar type of approach. By examining the person and showing them both the area that reproduces their complaints and how they can change their habits to stop over-loading their bodies patients learn to care for themselves and feel more in control and capable to perform self-care. This is the equivalent of not allowing doctors to take blood pressure, pulse, blood tests etc before making a diagnosis. It does not work any better avoiding examination in physical medicine than it would in general medicine. If anyone wants to point out something I am missing in the article I would be happy to listen. From what I have read I am not impressed. LFD
