| Cutting edge |  This weeked I had to take my elderly father through to the emergency unit of a local private hospital. Fortunately they were not busy and he was seen promptly. He was checked over by a pleasant nursing sister who took a basic history and carried out baseline investigations such as blood pressure and also an ECG because of his background medical history. The doctor on duty, also very pleasant and friendly, examined him, made a diagnosis of pneumonia and sent him for a confirmatory chest X-ray, as well as taking some basic blood tests. He was discharged with oral antibiotics and I took him back to the excellent old-age home that he lives in, where I handed him over to the care of the duty sister. The whole experience took about an hour an a half.
Now let's contrast this with the experiences of Mr S. Mr S is a black man who works at quite a high level for a local animal protection NGO. He does not have medical aid and lives in rather sub-standard accommodation on the NGO's property. In late December this year he had dreadful back pain and the family took him to a local private GP, who referred him to a local state hospital. He was seen there, diagnosed with a collapsed vertebra (tentative diagnosis TB) and send home with pain killers and an appointment for orthopaedic outpatients three weeks later. His pain got worse and he started experiencing weakness in his legs and difficulty walking. The family took him back to the state hospital. They struggled to even get a doctor to see him, and when finally, an overworked and highly stressed junior doctor did see him, she again sent him home on pain killers. By now Mr S could not walk, so the family took him, in desperation, to another hospital on the Cape Flats, on a Saturday night. There, in amongst the knife and gunshot wounds, someone took the trouble to examine him properly and he was finally referred through to Groote Schuur Hospital.
Now the wheels were in motion and he was fully investigated and a tenatitive diagnosis of unknown primary cancer was made as a the cause of the collapsed vertebra. Unfortunately, it was too late to decompress the spine and by now Mr S was paraplegic. The orthopaedic surgeons now started the long process of getting a tissue diagnosis so that Mr S could be appropriately referred. Because of the constraints of the public system, even in a large tertiary hospital, it was nearly four weeks before the final diagnosis of multiple myeloma was made and Mr S could be passed to the oncologists and haematologists for care.
It took four weeks before Mr S was diagnosed. This was a totally unacceptable length of time, during which he received no treatment and no rehabilitation for his paraplegia.
The contrast between the two experiences is too great - even given that my father's problem was relatively simple. Mr S would have been diagnosed within a week to 10 days in the private system and by now would be well into treatment for his disease - as well as rehabilitation for his disability. These are the kinds of issues that the political parties who are contesting our upcoming election need to be concentrating on.
Bridget Farham Editor
https://www.bizcommunity.com
| | Headlines
MedicalFDA alerts public about danger of skin numbing productsAgency says that there are serious and life-threatening risks associated with improper use.
CardiologyNew scan shows bleeding inside heart after heart attackImages that for the first time show bleeding inside the heart after people have suffered a heart attack have been captured by scientists, in a new study published today in the journal Radiology. Landmark study identifies heart rate as a new risk factor for heart attacks - Health DiRxionsWhen your heart beats faster it's not always a good thing.
Chronic diseasesNew nano-insulin pill could replace injections for diabeticsIndian scientists suggest that people currently controlling their diabetes with daily insulin injections will soon be able to use an insulin pill instead.
Dental diseaseGet your tongue around fresh breath - Paula Wilson Media ConsultingNational Dentyl pH Fresh Breath Week - 1 to 7 February 2009 A guide to improving the way you practice dentistry - Dental Learning HubInteractive Dental Media, in association with W&H, introduces the Dental Practice Guide 2009, a valuable reference guide for practising dentists, covering essential topics on running a successful dental practice in the 21st century, free of charge.
Food crisisUNICEF feels the pinch of the food price crisisAs Ethiopia struggled with high food prices and a lack of relief aid in 2008, the UN children's agency, UNICEF, initiated one of the biggest responses to fight severe malnutrition ever undertaken.
Infectious diseasesGlobal: an anatomy of choleraCholera is a waterborne disease that has surfaced in almost all parts of the world, and the mere mention of its name is often enough to induce panic in communities. Cholera deaths in Zimbabwe top 3000The death toll from the cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe has now passed the 3000 mark, the UN's World Health Organization (WHO) has said. Zimbabwe's worst-case cholera scenario getting worseZimbabwe's worst-case cholera scenario, as predicted by the World Health Organisation, is likely to be surpassed within a few weeks and there are still about two months of the rainy season left. Yellow fever outbreaks on the rise in West Africa As international agencies respond to the emergence of the deadly yellow fever virus in Guinea, experts say they are increasingly concerned about a rise in outbreaks across Africa.
Medical AidImbalances at Discovery Health Medical Scheme[Stanley L. Eiser] The young subsidising the old and the healthy the sick are unavoidable in healthcare cover. What one does not expect and what comes as a major shock is the poor carrying the rich. Even more shocking is that it has happened at Discovery Health Medical Scheme (DHMS), the largest and most high profile medical scheme in the country. Does your medical scheme benefit you? How do you choose the right scheme?[James Arens] Here are some basic steps you can take that will help a great deal when you select a medical aid scheme. Stretching medical aid benefits - Gullan & GullanEvaluating the benefits offered by your medical aid becomes vital in a challenging economic environment. The level of care you will receive in the event of severe illness or unplanned hospitalisation is important, but so are ancillary benefits.
Medical ResearchLink with virus that causes cervical cancer and head and neck cancersThe human papilloma virus, implicated in the development of cervical cancer, is now thought to play a role in head and neck cancers. Don't think too hard -it'll disrupt your puttGolfers who think too much about their technique between shots could be seriously affecting their performance, a study has suggested. Ground-breaking test for sperm qualityScientists have developed a ground-breaking method for testing the quality of a sperm before it is used in IVF and increase the chances of conception. Combined exercise improves obese seniors' health, experts sayNinety minutes of aerobic exercise combined with 60 minutes of resistance exercise performed across three days each week can have a big impact on the health of older, obese adults, Queen's researchers have discovered. Scientists discover a compound that gets rid of excess cholesterolNew research by scientists in the United States carried out in mice has revealed a compound that releases excessive cholesterol accumulated inside cells. Gene Scrawny keeps stem cells healthyStem cells are the body's primal cells, retaining the youthful ability to develop into more specialized types of cells over many cycles of cell division.
Medical TechnologyNew ultrasound system for women from Philips - Jenni Newman Public RelationsPhilips announces a new ultrasound system focused on the health needs of women.
Mental healthWhen less attention improves behaviourConfabulation, a devastating memory disorder consisting in the uncontrolled production of "false memories", often leads patients to act upon these memories. Now a new study indicates, among other findings, that lack of attention during memory retrieval is not the reason for confabulation.
NeurologyEffects of concussion can last for decadesPeople concussed in their youth show subtle signs of mental and physical problems even more than 30 years later, say Canadian researchers.
NutritionCouch potatoes storing up problems for later lifeChildren who spend hours in front of the television are more likely to eat junk foods.
OncologySex drive linked to prostate cancerMen who were very sexually active in their 20s and 30s may have a higher risk of prostate cancer, according to new research.
PaediatricsBreakthrough in prenatal screening for Down syndromeLenetix, Inc. today announced a significant step in the development of an improved first and second trimester non-invasive foetal chromosomal screening test to detect Down syndrome and other genetic foetal conditions. A safe cough and cold remedy for infants? - Write SceneIn 2008, The Star (March 28, 2008) reported that the deaths of at least five toddlers in the UK were linked to cough and cold remedies.
Public healthAustralian campaign tackles binge drinkingA new campaign has been launched in the Australian state of New South Wales aimed at curbing binge drinking. When things don't go better...Coca-Cola in the United States has been accused of outright fraud. Zimbabwe's urban patients now referred to rural mission hospitalsRosa Chimbindi, pregnant with her first child, recently went Parirenyatwa hospital, one of Zimbabwe's largest referral facilities, located in Harare, the capital, to have her baby. Instead, staff at the maternity wing told her the hospital was closed because of the health worker boycott. Short burst of intense exercise could cut risk of diabetesShort bursts of intense exercise every few days could dramatically cut the risk of diabetes and heart disease, according to an Edinburgh professor.
Sports scienceStripped of a gold medal through inadvertent doping - Write SceneAndreea Raducan, a world renowned Romanian gymnast made headlines in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games when she was stripped of her gold medal shortly after the Olympics concluded.
Women's healthSoy and the risk of colorectal cancer in postmenopausal womenConsumption of soy foods is linked to a reduced risk of colorectal cancer in postmenopausal women, according to new research. | | |
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