We have come to think that every minor ailment must be treated and doctors must prescribe. They can no longer tell you to wait a bit and you'll get better.
Because I am 85 and am constantly being told to report chest pains, I duly went to see my GP, after a few days of pain in the left side of my chest, quite sharp sometimes and of course imagined I must have something wrong with my heart.
I was reassured to be told that it is muscle pain, and felt better already. I would have been quite ready to go home and take paracetamol when required, but she insisted I have a cream and codeine! I got the cream at the pharmacy, but refused the codeine, which I consider OTT for the amount of pain I have. Then when I got home I discovered the cream, too, is analgesic only. Just to reduce the pain.
Over-prescribing is happening all the time, and we don't even know the cost of these unnecessary drugs. I know that some patients won't leave the surgery unless they get a prescription, but even when I resisted these were forced upon me. We are really being turned into a nation of softies.
This blog is a plea for common sense in public policy. Our leaders don't seem to have any. They just make daft rules for us to follow. We need to assert our right to use our own good sense instead of ticking boxes which can only say 'yes' or 'no'.
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