This time last week I was enjoying
a late start to the day, following an evening celebrating the wedding of one of
my oldest friends to a wonderful lady from Portugal. It was a celebration that
went way into the night and early hours. The late start was fine as we had a
further two days to spend in Porto and the weather had generally been very
kind. So, it was kind of surprising to get off the plane and drive home in a
blizzard! I had been expecting snow from my reading of the BBC weather
forecasts, but this was a total white out. And amazingly beautiful days
followed as more snow fell and the landscape changed into a winter wonderland.
And before you think I’m somewhat smug, I didn’t really have to go anywhere by
car and could stay in the warm. I totally acknowledge that this wasn’t the case
for many people down in the South of England and in parts of Wales, who really
struggled with the adverse weather conditions.
What wasn’t a surprise was coming
down with yet another racking cough and streaming cold - the second since
Christmas. There were three folk sitting behind J and I on the plane home and
they spent the entire 2 hours 17 minutes of the flight coughing. Each time they
coughed it set my teeth on edge and I could just imagine the clouds of droplets
being sent my way at Mach 1 speed. I was very close to ‘air-rage’ and literally
had to sit on my hands to stay calm. The three people concerned seemed
impervious to my glares and largely ignored me. That was last Tuesday. By
Wednesday I was already beginning to feel unwell, and yesterday I woke up with
a full-blown cough and cold.
This is slightly inconvenient, as
Monday and Tuesday see the last moves being played out in what has felt like a 3-dimensional
game of chess over the past 14 weeks - or what others might know best as moving
to a new house. Still the van is booked, and it does have a tail lift and I have
a willing assistant, which should make life easier! Currently I am sipping a
lovely hot cup of Ginger and Honey Lemsip – and I still have half a bottle of
fine port left for later. I know it’s a cold, and despite the inconvenience, I
know it is a self-limiting condition. What I need to ameliorate the unpleasantness
I can buy from Tesco (there are other supermarkets). For many people, with long
term health conditions this is not the case.
However, 80% of medicines used in
the UK come from European countries. The NHS spend some £20 billion on
medicines each year. I’m sure you will have read the threat a ‘no-deal’ Brexit might
have on this supply chain. Many commentators are worried; advice from NHSE/I
suggests they are just as worried and have put in place certain contingency
measures to safeguard the supply of certain medicines. Having just come back
from the wonderful European country of Portugal, which also has a National
Health Service, and where most folk need to contribute to the costs of their health
care, I wasn’t surprised to learn their system regularly experiences shortages
of some drugs and has the same capacity issues as we have in the UK. In the UK I guess it
will be a case of watch this space…
Likewise, the Daily Mail raised concerns
about shortages of fresh vegetables, concerns based upon a study undertaken by
researchers from the University of Liverpool and Imperial College London. 84%
of all fruit and almost half of all vegetables consumed is imported. The study
calculated that the predicted price rises (from 14%- 17%) and shortages would
result in a 11% drop in fruit and vegetables consumed across the general
population. The possible consequence of this reduction in eating healthily is a
predicted extra 12,000 deaths caused by heart attacks and strokes between 2021
and 2013.
There is an alternative to this
Doomsday scenario that comes in the shape of ‘an army’ of health advisors, who
will work at diverting folk from the GP’s waiting room. These advisors will
help people live healthier lives, help them deal with anxiety and depression
and help folk recognise the causes of these conditions and how to avoid being
sucked into situations that give rise to them. I think it’s a brilliant idea. Nearly
half of all GP appointments are not directly related to medical conditions. Additionally,
NHSE/I reported last year that 15 million people didn’t turn up for their GP
appointment. I guess there are still some wrinkles to be ironed out, particularly
around approaches to recruitment of these social prescribing link workers. Would
someone who was a smoker or obese be employed?
And if else fails, we also have
statins to fall back on. Last week saw the publication of research that showed
the unequivocal benefits of people of all ages taking statins, but particularly
those aged over 75 years old. Cardiovascular disease kills approximate 150,000
people in the UK each year. Nearly 60% of these deaths occur in those over the age
of 75. I have been taking statins for years, and I worry about the supply
drying up. Whilst I do like apples and walk every day I’m not sure on their own,
they will be a good enough substitute.
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