Medical Advice

There's a new trend sweeping workplaces.  Employers are taking out insurance to cover their losses when staff take time off sick and as part of that package employees have access to private medical services.  Instead of taking time off to visit your GP you can have a Skype consultation with a private GP.  I can imagine teachers, coughing at their i-pads with children running feral in the background while a man in pyjama bottoms and a shirt and tie with a stethoscope around his neck tells them that antibiotics are not recommended and suggests that they could be stressed.  The teacher replying, "No shit Sherlock," under their breath.

This sits uncomfortably with me.  I've been against any privatisation of the the health service since a neighbour, Auntie Mary (had a canary up the leg of her drawers) boasted about her BUPA.  Even as a ten year old I couldn't work out how it was OK for a doctor to be using NHS facilities on a private patient and I found it totally corrupt that people who have money could get treatment before someone that really needed it.

I can see the appeal.  Some people like seeing doctors (personally, I'd rather avoid them) but it is very difficult to get an appointment. I think it's because all the doctors can earn £200 a consultation sitting at home in their pjs, avoiding most of the great unwashed, as much as it is because people go when they don't need to.

If you can't get a doctor's appointment (or don't want one) and you are unwell in a way that people notice there will be a large selection of unsolicited advice available to you.  My voice is being ridiculous again and people keep asking questions. The last thing you really want to do is answer questions when you have no voice, especially when the question is, "What's wrong with your voice?" or "Why does this keep happening?" or even, "Have you tried?"

Today, I learnt two things.

I learnt that you shouldn't take medical advice from a singer who has never actually lost their voice. (The straw technique has disappeared mine completely) and I learnt that 'smack' isn't just what I'd like to do to the person whose advice I took but the name of a fishing boat, so named because the fishermen smacked the fish on the head with a stick.