Read Yourself Into Well-Being

According to a study undertaken by the University of Glasgow; 2000 people diagnosed with Depression have made considerable steps towards feeling ‘better’, and have been able to manage their Depression with only the use of self help books.

Yes, the humble SELF HELP BOOK.

However, maybe these books aren’t the miracle they are being deemed to be as half of the studies participants were also receiving Anti-Depressants too.

So, is it possible that a few months with a self help book as your companion, and a a couple of sessions with an adviser (who informs you how to get the most out of this literature), really be the ultimate ‘cure’?

Well, the NHS think so. They seem willing to invest in this treatment, and no wonder as it is claimed this approach could save the NHS £272m and the public sector £700m. A considerable sum of money.

Yet is this just another quick fix being employed to rid the NHS of waiting lists for much needed Psychological treatments?

After all medications are readily prescribed by GPs to those patients waiting, and waiting, and waiting for therapies such as counselling. So perhaps another prescription, albeit in the form of self books wouldn’t be that unusual.

The truth is though that the demand for Psychological treatments is so extreme that the NHS cannot keep up with the referrals being made, and the investment required. Anti-Depressants, or any prescription can be used as a stop gap, a plaster for a deeper wound; therefore removing people from any waiting list which would lead to more money being spent. Yet, wouldn’t the cost be less if the true and deep seated issues were actually being addressed instead of bypassed by drugs and books?

These Anti-Depressant prescriptions actually cost the NHS £16m, but these drugs solve none of the patients real issues; 2 thirds of patients don’t respond to the medication at all. So, why are the NHS willing to waste more money on a dead end, but not a ‘cure’ which Psychological therapies can provide?

How can self help books therefore be contenders, when it has been proven that therapies like CBT are actually what is required?

Is it a case of considering a joined up response? What doesn’t work for one may indeed be beneficial to another? Perhaps; as everyone responds differently to different treatments. Or, maybe it is another save money quick scam.

WHAT DO YOU THINK??? SHARE WITH ME YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS COMPLEX TOPIC…….

Would you be happy for your GP to prescribe a self help book instead of CBT???

Have self help books worked for you??

Do you think medication alone is the answer??

Is it right that the NHS should cut its funding for Psychological therapies??

HAVE YOUR SAY NOW!

The Declining Health of The NHS

A recent report investigated claims that foreign ‘health tourists’ are able to buy their way onto UK NHS patient lists with GP surgeries.

Apparently these cases of bribery aren’t a one off, but an epidemic. BBC’s Panorama sent undercover reporters to various GP surgeries, where they posed as ‘health tourists’. These reporters subsequently managed to buy their way onto GP lists for substantial amounts of money. They were then referred to hospitals for treatment, even though their complaints were not critical emergencies.

Every health tourist who pays a GP or Health Centre to be registered is handing their money over illegally, and depriving a UK citizen of treatment. The NHS is based on entitlement; as a UK resident you have access to the system, it has nothing to do with how much cash you cough up. This illegal act is heinous enough, but the fact that it then leads to abuse of, an advantage taking of an already under-strain system, is disgusting. People wait long enough for hospital referrals, and to have treatment; even then the service is slow and poor. There is also the post code lottery to contend with; what treatment and medication received depends on where you live in the country! Yet, ‘health tourists’ don’t have this concern, but they are not even UK residents!

People in the UK pay National Insurance to be included in the health system, but they have no privileges. Why then should a health tourist?! This abuse of paying for registration to gain access to the NHS should be dealt with swiftly, before such precious resources are drained dry from the UK residents. Where are the tighter and tougher independent checks, controls and regulations for surgeries to adhere to, to prevent abuses of power? Who is checking on the NHS to make sure money isn’t being wasted and resources aren’t being misused? I mean, it is only a billion pound a year to keep the NHS ticking over, shoddy as it is; but hey that is OK, we have money and resources to waste. The NHS is open to everyone without one question being asked! It seems the NHS believes it has money to burn!

If you are not eligible for free treatment then you should be paying for it, it is that simply surely?! Yet, it is estimated that over the last 3 years health tourism has been allowed to get away with depriving the NHS of over £40 million! It is law that a person has to have been living in the UK for the last year to receive free treatment; although GP surgeries, walk in surgeries and A&E services can overlook this if the case is deemed severe, infectious or life threatening. Hospitals should check a patient’s residential status to ensure they live in the UK, but they don’t; in fact 133 Hospital Trusts didn’t check at all! A mistake, well not one to be forgiven when it has cost the country millions!

People who venture to the UK just to take advantage of what they believe to be another ‘free’ system available for them to abuse should be stopped. It is unfair to expect UK residents to continue paying into a system that is so poorly regulated, and so often abused. Would any other billion pound business be so lax in their regulations and accounts? NO! People in the UK are already paying into the system and hoping they will receive good treatment, but every year the satisfaction with service declines, as money leaks from the NHS. Now one of the reasons for such leakage has been revealed it should be fixed immediately. The NHS’s belt needs tightening, or UK residents will continue to lose out.

The sign says it all!

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© Bex Houghagen and The Savvy Senorita, 2012. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Bex Houghagen and The Savvy Senorita with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.