Will you pass your MOT.

Margaret Pilkington · 28-01-2006, 19:14

The government is proposing to implement Medical MOT's for us all at various times in our lives. These medical assessments will be purely voluntary......but will the government put the resources in place to cope with the extra work? Will GP's be penalised if they do not reach set targets?(this government is target driven) and if this is the case how long will it be before Doctors are telling us that unless we attend they will no longer provide us with medical care????????? Will you attend for one of these Medical MOT's?

WillowTheWhisp · 28-01-2006, 19:36

Given the ages at which the propose to do them I'm already past my sell-by date!

One thng I was wondering though, seeing as how it's next to impossible to get a doctor's appointment now at some surgeries how are they going to manage to fit in all the extra work?

Doug · 28-01-2006, 19:45

Might not be a bad idea Margaret, I begrudgingly went for a check up late last year because I felt sluggish. I was a stone and half over weight and my cholesterol was far too high. I did diet as a result and lost a stone (I’ve put 7lb back on over Christmas) and dropped a trouser size and feel much better for it. There are a couple of things still to attend to and we only have one life, in these bodies anyway.

I don’t think we need to go to these extremes of MOTs and the like. What is needed is greater education and the opportunity to see a Doctor when you need to not when they can fit you in.

I don’t know if you know but the Government are looking to put computerised self monitoring modules in some public places where you can have routine and basic feel well checks done. I have some paper work somewhere I’ll dig it out. Anyway it’s all related to “Telecare Monitoring” within the Health and Social Care sectors.

Madhatter · 28-01-2006, 19:50

I would, I think they'd be a good thing and help people keep fitter. We're getting fatter and more unfit in the uk, cholesterol is higher, junk and take away food is more comnmon than ever. An mot will tell us we are going wrong and we can do something about it. Sometimes we need telling, even if its obvious to others.

Madhatter · 28-01-2006, 19:51

And the data collected could be used to more acuratly show the health of people

Margaret Pilkington · 28-01-2006, 20:01

Doug, when I was last in Oz, Uncle Toby's...which is like our Quaker Oat Breakfast cereal maker, sponsored caravans in all the shopping malls....there was a nurse present and she would weigh you, check your blood pressure.....do a fingerprick test for diabetes and also for a cholseterol reading. All these things were fed into her laptop and it generated a read out for you to take to your own Doctor. She did not promote the products made by the sponsoring company but on the way out one of the company workers gave you a bag of goodies.....all healthy, low salt/sugar cereals and snack bars with a heap of leaflets on healthy life styles.

I thought these were a fairly good idea.......and I think it could be done over here.....it wouldn't even need nurses to do the checks......just someone who could do the checks and feed the info into a laptop.

I think we expect far too much from our GP's and their time should be taken up with caring for those who are ill.

I feel that if these proposals become reality, many GP's will have technicians doing the checks......and maybe nurses monitoring the results and only weeding out those who need to see the GP for further health intervention.

Madhatter · 28-01-2006, 20:18

now that is a good idea MP, that would do it and keep the gp's free.

Doug · 28-01-2006, 20:22

I totally agree with what your saying there Margaret. I don't think we do enough to promote good health.

Looking at today’s youngsters it’s only going to get worse, binge drinking, over use drugs, smoking and poor sexual health education, and the lack of exercise due to schools failing to promote competitive sports amongst pupils. I’d hate to be a Doctor in ten or twenty years time.

Margaret Pilkington · 28-01-2006, 20:23

Well, it isn't really my idea.... it is just an initiative that is being successfully used in OZ. I do believe that we should use other peoples ideas if they have been proven to work.....no good re-inventing the wheel.

Margaret Pilkington · 28-01-2006, 20:27

Doug, it is no fun being a Doctor at present.....there are so many pressures on them to meet targets. It is almost like being on a production line.

I don't feel it is necessary for people to have these proposed tests done by a medically trained person......it will be enough work for the GP's to monitor the people that these tests identify as being 'at risk'.

Oh, and well done on your pro-active attitude to your own health.....and weight loss.

Madhatter · 28-01-2006, 20:29

This is true, we think we're really clever at coming up with these new ways to make the wheel, cheaper, quicker, lighter, easier to do, easier to use, erm easier to break!

Doug · 28-01-2006, 20:29

If people didn’t reinvent things Margaret, we’d all be dead. It’s a good Idea and it’s workable even for a shabby little Council to organise and promote. You with us PB……

Margaret Pilkington · 28-01-2006, 20:34

Yes, it would be a very good initiative.....it would be even better if it were sponsored by some health conscious firm.

To be realistic, if you do want to have your blood pressure checked and a diabetes test you can have bothings done at no cost in Lloyds Chemist on Broadway...and I'm not too sure about this but I think that BOOTS Chemist used to do cholesterol tests too(not sure if they charged).

Doug · 28-01-2006, 20:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

Doug, it is no fun being a Doctor at present.....there are so many pressures on them to meet targets. It is almost like being on a production line.

I don't feel it is necessary for people to have these proposed tests done by a medically trained person......it will be enough work for the GP's to monitor the people that these tests identify as being 'at risk'.

Oh, and well done on your pro-active attitude to your own health.....and weight loss.

Margaret there are very strong moves in Health and Social Care sector to develop what’s termed as Generic Carers that can reduce the demand on the District Nursing Service specifically, but would also be used to develop these very services. I am not in full agreement with the moves in Blackpool due to the nature of the available workforce at present, but it coming whether I like it or not.

Madhatter · 28-01-2006, 20:36

Infact I think they'd be better done away from the doctor, no production line, more time to ask advice.
Our doctors are really good here, they call a spade a spade, tell you how it is, if they think your being a whimp they tell you, although when I got my double hernia and he said come back when it's worse, he did give me a good telling off when I went back ten years later complaining I couldn't lift a 5kg bag of spuds.