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What the NHS won't tell you
By Verité Reily Collins
WHAT THE NHS WON'T TELL YOU By VERITE REILY COLLINS Told he had a rare cancer, Dr. Andrew Lawson used his contacts to find treatment in the US. Yet officially, if you could benefit from similar treatment, and this is only available in the private sector outside the health service, your doctor is not supposed to tell you about this, on pain of disciplinary action.
It's not only patients who don't get information from the NHS. It can happen to doctors when they need treatment. Doctor Andrew Lawson, Consultant at the Royal Berkshire Hospital, wrote a major article recently in The Sunday Times on 'The Cancer Treatment the NHS wants to keep quiet about'. He has mesothelioma, a 'supposedly incurable cancer', and went to the States to take part in clinical trials. "The chances are that if you were a cancer patient, your NHS doctor would not even have told you such a trial existed". In denial when it comes to cancer, here is proof that NHS policies mean British patients lose out. Stuck at the bottom of European post cancer survival league tables, one reason could be that in UK treatments such as Lawson received are "out of bounds to patients in our NHS". “Why shouldn't patients in the NHS be able to try such innovative trials in the US - or elsewhere"? He supplies the damning answer, "it is not so much a question of cost as a willingness to embrace new ideas". It is the old scenario of envy. The NHS sitting on top of its mountain of arrogance needs to understand that no longer do doctors and patients flock for training and treatment to Britain. Once, our health service was the envy of the world, and made a profit from treating patients from other countries. Today? Well, the Greek Government sends some patients here – other countries send their patients to Switzerland, France, Germany and elsewhere. Patient Choice
The current Minister of Health, Alan Johnson, trumpets schemes offering 'patient choice'; but do patients want this? He feels this makes the NHS look good: you now have the choice between one bad local hospital with MRSA, and another with a newly discovered bug. But if you want to top-up your treatment, pay for extra medicine, or even go abroad for a new therapy, Big Bully steps in. You have paid into the Health Service with your taxes – yet the NHS tries to charge you on top if you dare to pay for extras. This surely is illegal, especially as the NHS allows this for dentistry. The hospital where Cherie Blair went “on the NHS” to have Leo offers special ‘midwife attention’. This costs extra if you are an ordinary patient – only free if your husband’s job means you can’t mix with everyday Mums ‘for security’. Meanwhile, as Lawson says, "if a doctor knows of a better treatment but it is
only in the wicked private sector outside the health service, he or she is not supposed to tell you about it, on pain of disciplinary action". This gets his blood boiling – and most patients will agree. Listen to those who know
If the NHS really wants to improve, it will listen to Consultants, behave in a civilised manner and get rid of bullying (shades of Communism here – don’t do what I do, do as I say). And stop spreading information that patients pay more for health care in other countries. We pay from £1,500 to £1,700 in taxes – most Europeans, even with combined taxes and top up insurance, pay less. Talking to a nurse in Chelsea and Westminster Hospital who has worked in both systems, she said, "I can't wait until we adopt the French system". We agreed this would cut overheads drastically; when insurance companies pay part of the bill - they soon cut down on 'chill out executive rooms' and other frills. Bullies
So if you want to top up your treatment, or even go abroad, don't allow bullying NHS staff to put you off. Bullies don't like being challenged. And as brave Lawson says "I don't think the NHS will penalise me, although I would love to see it try". If you are suffering from mesothelioma, and have not had surgery, then you may be suitable for the trial in Philadelphia. This is an experimental phase one trial, which means the mechanisms are unproven, as is efficacy and safety. More details on contacts for this and clinical trials on the NHS, see www.after-cancer.com Word Count: 656
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Contributor's Note
Author is a cancer patient, on medical advisory committees, editor www.after-cancer.com
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Alternative medicine groups are excellent sources of information.
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