Make no mistake, the Government's plans to offer checkups to everyone over 40 is not just about saving lives - it is about saving the NHS. Of course ministers are good and altruistic beings who care deeply about the welfare of their fellow citizens. But behind their concern lie some hard nosed calcultations about the escalating cost of provioding health services to an ageing nation.
As Derek Wanless, the former Nat West chairman argued in the Wanless report in 2002 that underpinned the Government's huge investment in the NHS, unless we do more on prevention, improve health and reduce demand, the NHS will be overwhelmed. It has to make sense to measure a person's blood pressure and cholesterol and step in with timely advice about stopping smoking or starting jogging rather than wait for the heart attack or stroke that costs thousands to treat and leaves the individual disabled and dependent. But will our generously rewarded GPs bite the bullet and get on with delivering the checks? That is another matter.
I think if GPs are paid enough they will harras, sorry 'persude' patients i to having them.
On the face of it, it is a good idea, but there is this thing called privacy which is not easily dealt with. We live in a country where people are too fat are descrimnated agaisnt in health care, people who smoke/drink can be discriminated against, children can be taken into care because of their weight, children can be taken into care because of the parents IQ or mental state. We also have insurance compaines and researchers demanding access to such data.
Check ups are only as good as the info the patient supplies, such as exercise, smoking/drinking habits, stress/possible depression they are suffering etc. If this is going to made available to people other than the patients GP (such as the national database for the NHS where others have access or insurance companies), then patients should have the right to say no without health workers applying presure on them and people like me will say no. It should not be yet another case of 'your privacy or your life'.
Posted by: Dave | Tuesday, 01 April 2008 at 07:56 PM