We should know when a doctor’s input is required

Well it seems that the UK National Health Service wants children to be taught that they should not abuse the NHS service by going to them for every little ailment. The NHS says children need to be taught that minor ailments like colds, sore throats and coughs can be treated with simple home remedies and not by “hassling” doctors in surgeries. According to the NHS, it is these children who grow up and inundate doctors’ surgeries when their children get ill. Teach them when they are children and the ‘burden’ on the NHS services is lessened over time.

This does remind me of one time when I rang my GP in London when I had a very sore throat. It was very bad and I thought it might be serious. So I called the surgery to ask if I could have an appointment with one of the doctors. The first thing the receptionist asked me was what was wrong with me. When I told her that I had a very bad sore throat, she said no and to drink lots of water and warm drinks and that was that. Another time I had a very uncomfortable post nasal drip that wouldn’t go away and was told the same thing. Of course, both got better. I think, back then, doctors taught patients what required medical attention and what did not by refusing to give them an appointment. It was also through television adverts and posters inside hospitals and doctors’ surgeries.

That’s why I was baffled when I first came to the UAE back in 1995. When I had anything very minor going on with me, the first thing I was asked by colleagues was, had I seen a doctor? No, it’s a sneeze! It surprised me on many levels. Firstly, I had no health insurance so every visit meant paying a consultation fee. So why would I do that for something I know is minor and which would clear up in a day or so. I wondered if they went to a doctor with every little ailment they felt especially since health insurance was not mandatory back then.

I think it might have something to do with cultural differences. I believe that in some cultures, people will visit a doctor, or hospital, no matter how minor the symptoms are. The notion that, most often than not, a cold or flu runs its course without intervention has never occurred to them. Yes, it’s true that , sometimes, antibiotics may be required but that only happens when an infection has set it.

That infection is quite specific in that it can be either viral or bacterial. Unfortunately, what happens is that often people can’t distinguish between the two and end up taking antibiotics anyway. They tend not to believe that a viral infection cannot be cured by antibiotics and reach for them in the first instance. Perhaps at this point, it is advisable to seek medical attention. After all, the person suffering is the only one who can tell whether or not something they have is more than a cold or flu.

Yes children do need to be taught many things and maybe not calling a doctor for every little ailment is something that does need to be avoided but there are so many other things that children should be taught to do and not to do when it comes to their health. Perhaps, in addition to teaching kids to treat every minor ailment with home remedies, they should also be taught to distinguish between a viral infection and a bacterial one. Yes it’s true that no one can distinguish between the two and that’s when a doctor’s input is required. He alone will be able to tell you if you need antibiotics.

But one thing that did surprise me was that the announcement took place post-Covid. Many people might think that the advice being handed down by the health authorities in the UK might be a tad disingenuous given that when Covid was at its height doctors were refusing to see patients in their surgeries. The question might then be, do they want that scenario to continue but the Covid excuse has gone? Yes, every ailment does not need a doctor. Yes, the NHS shouldn’t be packed with patients with runny noses because there may be folks with more serious conditions that need regular medical intervention. But, according to the UK population, sadly the NHS has lost some of its credibility over the past 10 years.