tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34112832.post7281690245525780721..comments2023-11-05T09:37:36.840+01:00Comments on A View From Rural Wales: We should not let them die.Glyn Davieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442114752573417252noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34112832.post-10689008129302229232008-06-07T21:59:00.000+01:002008-06-07T21:59:00.000+01:00Something maybe to think about if only for a limit...Something maybe to think about if only for a limited time. Factories usually run on a shift system. There are even government labs and parts thereof that run on a shift system. So why not speed things up by doing colonoscopies day and night? So much invested in such expensive assets which lie largely idle at night. Yes, hospitals do have night staff, yes NHS med lab scientists are on call, etc. etc. But the labs are only fully staffed during normal business hours - but steelworks typically run 24 hours because of the cost of reheating or keeping things hot, what of 'life-cost'? <BR/><BR/>... 'and another thing', the colonoscopy can be done by less trained staff or by using the swallow technology (also fitted with cameras) - colonoscopies can be done at night, recorded data sent to a medical specialist in say India, and the results ready for review by a NHS consultant within 24 hours. <BR/><BR/>Frankly, the spare capacity is there, just got to tap it. <BR/><BR/>I remember being told during my first days working as a junior med lab technician in a large hospital on the outskirts of south London, a Senior tech told me that the work we do was once limited to preparing a bench area for the specialist to do the actual testing, then it was realized that the technicians could do the work, thus tapping into the spare capacity already in-situ. <BR/><BR/>Hope these ideas help Glyn.Dr. Christopher Woodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09066490027824527304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34112832.post-82970696492558084912008-06-07T21:40:00.000+01:002008-06-07T21:40:00.000+01:00Christopher and anon - Bowel Cancer kills 16,000 e...Christopher and anon - Bowel Cancer kills 16,000 every year. It is a common disease. We all know someone. Its no good blaming the current Minister for not introducing screening. The blame lies with previous Ministers, who have not ensured that the capacity to deal with the tumours screening would reveal is in place. Edwina Hart is only telling us the way it is. The area that I might be critical of would be if some stupid prejudice against the private sector is slowing things down. I had a call this morning from a company that offers private colonoscopys, which could speed up the system, but I need to know more before I can make an issue of it.Glyn Davieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17344589217554138315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34112832.post-2906850022538499792008-06-07T17:34:00.000+01:002008-06-07T17:34:00.000+01:00Glyn, I lost both my parents and a very dear uncle...Glyn, I lost both my parents and a very dear uncle to cancer, my father at 76 to prostate cancer that had been allowed to spread to bowel and bladder, my uncle died of bowel cancer at the age of 56 so I know only too well the importance of early diagnosis.<BR/>What annoys me greatly is that Edwina Hart sees fit to give failed asylum seekers free healthcare, whilst people born and bred in Wales and having paid into the system all their lives are left to suffer.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34112832.post-74287795130183169842008-06-07T15:44:00.000+01:002008-06-07T15:44:00.000+01:00Second anonymous's comments. Difficult subject ma...Second anonymous's comments. Difficult subject matter for me; a close relative was operated on at CRI (Cardiff Royal Infirmary) some years ago now for bowel cancer. It seems the cancer was not caught in time. Appropriate screening can't come too quickly.Dr. Christopher Woodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09066490027824527304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34112832.post-86562018920103402682008-06-07T08:28:00.000+01:002008-06-07T08:28:00.000+01:00anon - thats very kind of you. The aspect of this ...anon - thats very kind of you. The aspect of this that made me keen to 'go public' was my own stupidity. It remains difficult for me to understand how a man (me) involved in the range of issues an Assembly Member is, did not have an inkling that I was suffering from Colorectal Cancer, despite having the classic symptoms. Some human beings have an almost unbelievable capacity for denial and not seeing the elephant in the bathroom.Glyn Davieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17344589217554138315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34112832.post-79773202230988742022008-06-07T03:11:00.000+01:002008-06-07T03:11:00.000+01:00Glyn, I think the dignified and open manner in whi...Glyn, I think the dignified and open manner in which you have spoken up about this issue shows why Montgomeryshire needs a sensible, mature, serious yet does-not-take-themselves-TOO-serious, respected Member of Parliament and not the bufoon they are inflicted with at present. You'll be an asset to the Welsh political sphere once more.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com