What a week! So much has been happening that I barely know where to start. Perhaps I will start with a random tweet I posted a few days ago, not knowing it would have such an overwhelming response.
Do you have a doctor and a health system that you trust? Recently, I had the privilege of interviewing Dr Teck Khong.Teck leads a new kind of political party, one with no right or left leanings. The Alliance for Democracy and Freedom is a centrist party with common sense policies. Its supporters believe in freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. It is the only political party led by a medical professional. Teck is a retired General Practitioner, and he holds a Master of Laws from Cardiff University. With many arrows to his bow, he was also a Police Surgeon to Leicestershire Constabulary for 21 years. He has a wealth of experience after serving on many panels and committees in both medicine and politics. And he has masterminded a blueprint for a new hospital.
An Old School Hospital? We Want Them Back!
Teck and I have stayed in contact since our interview, and the more we speak, the more we realise we are on the same page. We both want the same thing: a place for people to go in an emergency or after an accident.
What can we do to provide you with a safe hospital? We want to build one where you can be assured of dignity, safety, respect, consultation, informed choice, and gold star care. It would be a consultant-led hospital with uniformed nurses who can always be seen, flowers on lockers, open windows, and good old-fashioned observation charts at the end of every bed. It would be a hospital where a smile and a welcome will greet you, unlike in 2024’s NHS hospitals, where you are greeted by a security guard. It would be a hospital where holistic therapies are available. It would be a safe place for everyone, including those with vaccine injuries. It sounds fantastic, but is it possible? Can we bring back common sense and compassion? Yes is the simple answer. There are plenty of hospitals for sale; did you know that the NHS is busy selling them off? Their loss is our gain, and what’s even more exciting is that Teck has the blueprint ready to go!
Buoyed up at the prospect of a ‘if you build it, they will come’, ‘do no harm’ hospital, I started to post pictures of hospitals up for sale on X; however, they passed by my followers like tumbleweed. Yes, you really can buy an NHS hospital! I thought no more of it until randomly and probably a little unwisely, I typed a post suggesting that if enough of us donated a fiver, we could easily buy our own hospital. A day later, when I went to my X account, I was stunned to see my post had received thousands of views, and hundreds had offered help and money! It is clear to me that the public don’t want machines and technology; they want a hospital with humans and the precious gift of touch. So many wish for those days gone by to return. And why not? If it ain’t broken, why fix it?
Many may think feeling someone’s pulse is a simple task, but it isn’t. Long gone are the days when you see a nurse physically taking a pulse. It’s easier for them to use a machine. Perhaps you are being barcoded and scanned like a steak in a supermarket? Swipe and go? Machines cannot replace humans. What happens if the machine says your pulse is 126 and your blood pressure is 70/50? I will bet it won’t warn you that the patient may be bleeding internally. Does the machine tell you the volume of a pulse, or if it is strong and regular, or thready and irregular? Not as far as I am aware. Does the machine tell you how regular the patient’s respirations are, and how deep or shallow they are? No. In our hospital, nurses would do observations four times hourly. Not only would this give the nurses a good indication of how the patients were feeling, but it would also facilitate an opportunity to talk to the patient, touch the patient, ensure the patient has a drink, and ensure the patient spends a penny to balance it all up. When did they open their bowels last? Answers to these simple questions tell a nurse so much.
In 2024, do you know who your named nurse is, or who is looking after your loved one? Do the nurses and doctors even know your name? In my day, we knew every patient, and they knew us. If we didn’t, we were dismissed. It was that simple. We treated patients like they were one of our own family.
Common sense, kindness, a return to old-fashioned values, and patient-centred care are what is needed to breathe life into our health system so that it serves you instead of the industry. Who would you like to see in charge of our health system: Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who has no medical qualifications, or a well-qualified medical professional? You decide. I am very excited, and I hope you are too. The plans are afoot.
Hypothermia
As winter sets in, so does the cold weather, and this year is no different. I have noticed a frost on my car most mornings, and my bottled gas fire has been on for more hours than I would like! When I was growing up, we had no heating, save a beautiful coal fire. I remember a soot-covered coal man arriving with sacks of anthracite on his shoulder, dumping them unceremoniously into the bunker by the back door. Long gone are those days. In days gone by, it was often the postman or the milkman (remember them?) who would notice if someone elderly or vulnerable needed to be checked on. A couple of pints of milk on the doorstep or an undeliverable parcel would have been enough to trigger a friendly enquiry back then, but not in 2024.
What is hypothermia, and what is regarded as a ‘normal’ temperature? Hypothermia, a medical emergency, is a drop in body temperature below 35°C. Normal body temperature is 37°C or 98.6°F. Symptoms of hypothermia include:
- Shivering
- Pale, cold, or dry skin
- Blue or grey skin and lips - on black or brown skin, this may be easier to see on the palms of the hands or the soles of the feet
- Slurred speech
- Slow breathing
- Tiredness
- Confusion
Babies who are unusually quiet, sleeping, refusing to feed, and are cold and floppy may be suffering from hypothermia. What should you do before it becomes a medical emergency?
I have received a few requests from people asking how to prevent hypothermia, as they are loathe to turn on the heating. Whilst there is no quick one-size-fits-all solution, there are some things you can do to minimise the risk. Older people generally don’t feel the cold quickly enough, and therefore may unknowingly already be hypothermic before realising. I made a call to the wonderful Dr Robert Evered to ask him for some advice. Here are a few of his suggestions:
- Consider only heating the room where you spend most of your time.
- Wear a hat and fingerless gloves indoors. That way, you can still do things but keep your hands warm.
- Thermos flasks are a great way of ensuring there is a warm drink on hand. Warming bodies from the inside is just as important as warming outside. Slow cookers are a great way of providing a hot meal economically and nutritionally, and with relative ease.
- Woolly socks will keep toes and feet nice and toasty. Slippers or shoes with a good grip are essential. Trips, slips, and falls are all too common in winter, and they keep orthopaedic surgeons very busy.
- Layers of clothes are often more effective at keeping you warmer than one large garment. Keep blankets and duvets at the ready. Tuck down!
- Avoid going out in the early morning and evening when frost or black ice may cause a fall and subsequent injury.
- If family live away or are going away, let a friend, neighbour, or local neighbourhood watch group know that you are alone. Make sure you know how to contact them, and vice versa.
- If you live alone and have no family close, reach out to your local community for help. Your local NHS VolunteerResponders will be able to bring you supplies or medicines if you can’t get out.
- Try to keep moving. Even if you are sitting in a chair or bedbound, move your arms and legs, and stretch your fingers and toes. Don’t cross your legs at the ankles because it is bad for circulation.
- Have your phone, as well as phone numbers of family, friends, and local groups, handy.
Finally, remember to check the seals on any hot water bottles. Rubber perishes, so they should be checked and replaced regularly. After all, the idea is to keep warm safely, not to burn yourself!
If you have neighbours who are elderly or frail and living alone, perhaps give them a ring to make sure they are safe. They may not want to bother you and could be reluctant to reach out.
The UK Health and Security Agency (UKHSA) recommends that homes are heated to 18°C. They provide recommendations here.
Stories in Brief
Medicines Healthcare and Products Regulatory Authority (MHRA)
I hope you took comfort in our MHRA UK Column News special with my very good friend and colleague Cheryl Grainger who has taken on the MHRA literally single-handedly. She has been running a one-woman campaign to scrutinise their Covid-19 Pregnancy Monitor Data, which has been withheld despite promises of publication. After over a year of obfuscation and refusals, she complained to the Information Commissioner’s Office. Her persistence has been rewarded in a First-tier Tribunal. However, holding the MHRA’s feet to the fire has been far from easy.
The journey has already taken Cheryl 18 months, and still the data she has requested has not been forthcoming. More forthcoming has been the MHRA barristers’ insistence that there is nothing to see, and perhaps Cheryl would consider withdrawing. Desperate times mean desperate measures, so amongst their evidence, the MHRA are including information from Full Fact. Despite their insistence on dropping the trial, unfortunately for them, nothing could be farther from Cheryl’s mind. After reading and writing hundreds of thousands of words, and searching for experts, Cheryl has doggedly and diligently presented her evidence, and she is ready for her appearance on December 3rd.
I am honoured to be amongst those invited to witness the event. Please lend her your support. If you are on X, please follow her here. She is a truly remarkable lady doing a truly remarkable job.
Stop the press! As many of you may recall, the MHRA appear to be holding a December Board meeting. This is not advertised on their website, and I have been informed by their press office that there will be an informal board meeting in December, but it will be held in private, not in ‘pubic’ as the last one was. It seems there is no room at the inn for us.
There has been so much news to keep abreast of, so please don’t think I am forgetting our #ScrapTheApp campaign. The NHS App has, according to NHS England, been downloaded by 34 million people. They are, of course, delighted. The NHS App is the front door to a digital hell, in my opinion. I am suggesting to people that they consider deleting it from their device. I will be bringing you much more on this subject, reminding everyone that data is the new oil, and the NHS has plenty of yours. What are the consequences of so many downloading the app? Perhaps we won’t be able to access healthcare without giving our biometric data if we don’t have the NHS App. But, if we don’t resist walking blindly into a digital prison, by the time most realise what has happened, the prison doors will be slammed shut, and there will be no turning back.
As a note of interest, you may not like to know that billionaire and co-founder of Palantir, Peter Thiel, who is nowcharged with keeping all our NHS data safe (rolls eyes), also bankrolled President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign. CIA or Mossad? You choose. I’m just saying. More to come in the very near future.
And Finally
Christmas is just around the corner, and as we watch the Christmas lights start to light up in homes all around the country, spare a thought for all those who are vaccine injured and bereaved, those who are too ill to enjoy Christmas,and those who are alone.
At UK Column, we are honoured to be supporting those who are vaccine injured and bereaved. UKCV Family is now a charity. It is run by those who are vaccine injured and who have, together with Vaccine Injured Groups all around the world, supported, and advised thousands of others. Please support this amazing grass roots charity. Consider nominating them for a £1000 charity award here. Time is running out. Thank you in advance.
And finally finally, I had the pleasure of interviewing another rather remarkable member. Watch this space. You are going to love her!
Keep warm, and if you can, keep dry!
Until next time
God Bless
Debi
Isaiah 9:2 KJV
The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
