Doctor Cartoon

 A review of recent news reports

 Home Visit
Home Visit.
Presenting Feature
 Medical Records
Medical Records.
Archive of Past Events
 Clinical Findings
Clinical Findings.
A Medical Miscellany

 Practice Point
Practice Point.
A closer look at
Drug Company Reps

          Take Your Pick
 
  Under recent Government proposals
  patients who require a surgical operation
  will have a choice of up to 32 hospitals
  or 15 specialist clinics.

Cartoon. Patient's Choice.
 Mrs Dumple decides who will have the
   privilege of removing her gall bladder.		          HOME SERVICE
  The Health Department has plans to
  offer more women the option of giving
  birth at home rather than in a hospital.
  However, anyone who has conducted
  a home confinement will be aware of
  the problems which may arise from
  the less than ideal conditions,
  necessitating an urgent request for
  assistance.
Cartoon. Home Service.
       'Obstructed labour? Definitely! 
         Head won't budge an inch!'
    
 
           The Good Life

 Tory leader David Cameron believes
 quality of life to be more important than
 the relentless pursuit of material wealth.
 His government would concentrate on
 'GWB' (general well-being) rather than
 'GDP' (gross domestic product).

Cartoon. The Good Life.
  'I've decided your GDP is insufficient
    for my GWB - so I'm going AWOL!'		            Missing Person
 NHS family doctors have reduced home
 visiting from 22 per cent of consultations
 in 1971 to 4 per cent in 2003, according
 to the Office for National Statistics
 As well as saving time it has cut down
 the hazards associated with house calls.
 Cartoon. Doc's Worst Friend.
    'Do you think we should call the vet?
    He's cried without a break since the
            doctor stopped coming.'
Antibiotic Laughter
Research has shown that a good laugh
helps to fight infections. A hearty
chuckle increases levels of endorphins
and boosts the immune system.
Dr Lee Berk of Loma Linda University in
California suggests: 'You should laugh
as often as you can.'
Cartoon. The laughter antibiotic.
'This one'll kill you!'		           DEMOLITION JOB
  At least one healthcare trust has felt it
  necessary to close hospital departments
  and demolish buildings as a money-
  saving exercise.
 Cartoon. Demolition Job.
  'I was simply helping to knock down                   the place when...........'
 TREATING WITH RESPECT

  NHS hospitals are to appoint a "dignity
  nurse" to ensure that elderly patients are
  respected rather than neglected.
  In larger hospitals there will be several, at
  matron, sister and chief nurse level.   

Cartoon. Dignity Nurse.
 'You don't think Nurse Wilkins is going
            a little bit over the top?'		 Daylight Robbery
  
As Health Service trusts lay off staff to
make ends meet, patients and visitors
have to pay up to £55 a day in parking
fees when attending hospital.

Cartoon. Daylight Robbery.
'We're letting you go, James. 
We need your parking space.'


      
    
      General Practice 24/7
 Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt wants
 family doctors to make their premises
 more accessible to patients.
 The Government now permits pubs to
 extend licensing hours.
Cartoon. Open all Hours.
    'We're supplying a public need and
     saving a packet on running costs.'

 		            AN OLD STORY
      A recent paper (BMJ2006;332:479-82)
      questions  the appropriateness of
      cardiopulmonary resuscitation of
      elderly patients.
 Cartoon. An Old Story.
  ' ......and when we've done for him don't
          forget to leave the "DO NOT
              RESUSCITATE " sign.'