1st Edition

Doctor, What's Wrong? Making the NHS Human Again

By Sophie Petit-Zeman Copyright 2005
208 Pages
by Routledge

206 Pages
by Routledge

208 Pages
by Routledge

Does your doctor really care about you? Do you have time to care about your patients in the middle of all the red tape? Can we claw back tender, loving healthcare before losing sight of what it is? The medical machine is spinning out of control. Making the NHS better is about people, not about politics and posturing. It’s about recognising that, well or ill, we’re in it together. Being... Read more
Preface Acknowledgements Introduction There's hope Both sides of the story Injecting humanity Communicating care Too busy to care? Part One The main characters The way it is Men at the top Even men at the top Red tape and sticking plaster Better than cure? Common ground Just nonsense Buyer beware Family matters What goes around Part Two: a glossary, of sorts Choice Clinical trials (see Testing treatments) Communication Copying letters Drug trials (see Testing treatments) Error (see Medical error) Evidence-based medicine Expert patients Jargon Language (see Communication; Jargon) Managers Medical error (also known as Swiss cheese ... ) MMR (Measles, mumps and rubella vaccine) Money MRSA (see Superbugs) Obesity Postcode care Prevention Private medicine Rationing (see Choice; Postcode care) Regulation Star ratings (see Targets) Superbugs Targets Testing treatments Trusts Waiting Working hours Postscript: a sting in the tale

Biography

Sophie Petit-Zeman migrated from research in neuroscience and mental health to communications and journalism, focusing on science, medicine and social care. An award-winning writer, at times patient and carer, she has also worked in the NHS, private and voluntary sectors, in the UK and abroad. Sophie is a council member of the Brain and Spine Foundation and, after completing this book, was appointed Director of Public Dialogue at the Association of Medical Research Charities

'This book takes the conversations we’re all having about the NHS and goes the next step. Reading it is like being at a really good dinner party.'

'A brilliant device – mixing fiction and fact – this book really works.'

'It made me laugh, cry and think, so it did what it’s supposed to.'