D_I_Y Surgery!

[Dave Plowman (News)]

It's probably to do with being surrounded by sick people.

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Guy King saying something like:

A vet of my acquaintance is quite verbal on this point - that human doctors just specialise in treating one species, while vets have to know about a helluva lot more.

Certainly, I'd trust her to treat me, it's just that her licence/registration won't allow it.

[Kay]

Always thought it was legal to operate on someone as long as you had their consent, as long as you did'nt profess to be qualified or prescribe any drugs. Or is that another urban myth?

[Adrian]

Grimly Curmudgeon ( [e-mail]) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Then, of course, there's the dichotomy around Euthanasia.

If you DON'T put a pet "out of it's misery" when it gets old and decrepit, you're cruel - and, in an extreme case, could go to prison.

If you DO put a human "out of their misery" in the same circumstances, you can go to prison.

If/when I get to that state, I'll go with the vet's solution, please.

[Guy King]

The message from Grimly Curmudgeon contains these words:

I've been patched up by the vet a couple of times - though this was many years ago before we all got so fussy about these things. Didn't bother me - I'd had the opportunity to see his work many times before and knew I could trust him. Something most people can't say about their doctors. Helen excepted, of course. She's stitched me up quite adequately.

[Guy King]

The message from Adrian contains these words:

[Bob Eager]

Sounds a bit like the "competent person" thing again!

[Derek ^]

Correct in as far as they are probably weekened and frail.

However that's not to say patients routinely transmit the same sickness they came in with to everybody else. "Nasty epidemic of the head stuck in saucepan syndrome on emergency ward 10 matron" :-)

In Holland a whole Hospital department is shut down "To the floor" and they start scrubbing if a single case of MRSA is discovered. As a consequence the incidence there is about one third of ours. My wife's father died of MRSA in a filthy NHS Hospital six years ago. He took 6 weeks to die, she still cannot accept that he had to suffer so much simply on account of poor cleanliness.

To be fair the indicipline which runs through our society today makes control of infection in Hospital wards more difficult for the staff.

Visitors expect practically unlimited visiting hours and get them. Visitors use the visitors toilets, which are usually in in a sick making state with human waste sloshing about on the floor. The visitor then goes to the ward and sits on the bed with his feet up, small children become bored and fractious and are permitted to wander from bed to bed playing with small toys. Yuck.

Oh, BTW, better be careful ...

"Government will have powers to control the publication of reports into doctors' workloads, waiting times, conditions in hospitals and the quality of care. Studies into deaths resulting from infections picked up in hospital would be banned unless permitted by the Minister. "

No, the date is not April the first.

DG

[Derek ^]

Some private hospitals are actually old nursing homes in unsuitable accomodation such as big old houses.

You can move an X-ray table, HV transformer, Control desk, and Generator cabinets that have been in service for 14-15 years and find their outlines marked out on the floor in 1 cm of grease + 3 cms of fluff, even in an operating theatre.

One big hospital in Scotland specified "rodent proof" ethernet cable for one installation. It's a miracle their patients weren't going down with Bubonic Plague let alone MRSA.

DG

[Helen Deborah Vecht]

Guy King typed

You say the sweetest things!

[Staffbull]

Dont miss it a bit :-)

Oh by the way, Glasgow Royal or Yorkhill?

[Derek ^]

Southside ;-)

Think Clyde Tunnel ...

8-(

DG

[Derek ^]

BTW, having re-read my own post. What made you guess Glasgow ?

The wee woman at our local fish and chip shop (Near Leeds, been down here for 30+ years) says that "them" (the staff ?) at Raigmore, Inverness, are "Butchers".

So there.

DG

[Paul Herber]

Labour - the "We don't give a toss" party.

"The Government plans to make independent scrutiny of the National Health Service a criminal offence"

Sorry, I forgot, we are now living in North Korea. Please Mr Milburn, can I fart? In your face? Good. There you are, I enjoyed that too, no charge, a free gift (but please make sure you declare it to a. the Environmental Audit committee - you are now responsible for that fart - please recycle it, in public, live on camera) b. the Standards and Priveleges committee, if that fart was in any way substandard then I promise to replace it within 24 hours.

There, I feel better for that, and I did it all myself. So, back on-topic.

[Chris J Dixon]

Well, I wouldn't want just _anybody_ interfering with my part P!

Chris

[Guy King]

The message from Matt contains these words:

I think the wife drew the line at her spinal block wearing off during a caesarean.