A degree from Oxford, five years at medical school, four
years of hospital jobs, a year as a GP trainee, supervised by an experienced
family doctor and then, finally, at last, I was deemed well-enough trained to
be safe to see, assess, diagnose and treat patients on my own. And, even then,
I was nervous. I was of course an expensive commodity. You would not pay Gordon
Ramsay to put ketchup on your burger, would you? Why pay me to see your sick
child?
Feeling ill? You don’t
need to wait to see a doctor.
"Our prescribing Nurse Practitioners are highly trained and
are able to deal with the vast majority of medical issues that you present us
with. They are able to diagnose and prescribe medication and work closely with
our GPs on any cases about which they want a second opinion. As we have a
growing team of nurse practitioners, you could save you time if you want to get
in and see us as quickly as possible. You don’t need to wait to see a doctor!"
At the moment, this is an option offered by government-favoured
beacon general practices. (Full details here). Soon, the way things are going, for
patients without private health insurance, it will not be an option. It will be
compulsory. The art of family medicine
is sifting the chuff from the chaff. It took me twelve years to acquire the requisite
skills. I must be stupid. It seems nurses can do it in three years with a top
up seven day course on “diagnostic skills.”
You have to ask yourself, if your child is ill, do you want
him assessed by doctor or a nurse? And don’t think it is any better if you take
him to a hospital. Hospital paediatricians are being replaced by “health care
practitioners” and... er... traffic lights. Really!
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