Cash for unhealthy to visit GP

Cash for unhealthy to visit GP

news.bbc.co.uk

Health bosses are considering cash incentives to encourage the unhealthiest people to visit their GP.

One option under consideration is offering money or vouchers, such as £20 mobile top-ups to children in care for a one-off appointment with the GP.

(visit the link for the full news article)

I find this quite sinister, maybe i'm overly suspicious but a bribing children in care to make a one-off appointment with a GP? Why the desperate measures? Are children in care presumed to be less healthy than children elswhere, don't the care authorities look after them properly?

I probably wouldn't have been as shocked by this article had I not read this post by a member whose grandchild died days after a vaccination...

www.abovetopsecret.com...

...then this article pushing flu vaccinations first...

news.bbc.co.uk...

I've only had a flu jab once and took the worst flu i'd ever experienced, I was off work for 3 weeks and thought I'd died and went to hell.

Back on topic though, is enticing children to visit a doctor with vouchers, mobile phone top ups and cash ethical?








news.bbc.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

Originally posted by cazzy2211


I find this quite sinister, maybe i'm overly suspicious but a bribing children in care to make a one-off appointment with a GP? Why the desperate measures? Are children in care presumed to be less healthy than children elswhere, don't the care authorities look after them properly?

I probably wouldn't have been as shocked by this article had I not read this post by a member whose grandchild died days after a vaccination...

www.abovetopsecret.com...

...then this article pushing flu vaccinations first...

news.bbc.co.uk...

I've only had a flu jab once and took the worst flu i'd ever experienced, I was off work for 3 weeks and thought I'd died and went to hell.

Back on topic though, is enticing children to visit a doctor with vouchers, mobile phone top ups and cash ethical?

news.bbc.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

I'm not so sure. To me, it makes sense encouraging people to actually see a doctor. As well as being a stereotype, it's actually a genuine problem getting men to go to the doctor, particularly if it's anything that may cause embarrassment. Whilst women tend to joke about men being collective mard-arses when it comes to 'man flu' &c, the truth is, men can also being unnecessarily stoical when going to a doctor.

I think preventative medicine is really important and I think any message that you could potentially head-off all manner of serious illness (and potentially fatal illness) at early stages is a good one.

Also, one of the specific things in the article was the disparity in health between the economic demographics and how this may be a means to redress this issue.

That said, actual cash incentives or mobile phone 'top-ups' do seem a little odd. However, it might be the case that overall, it's actually cheaper to do this than provide care for even more seriously ill or terminal patients. Hopefully, in time, 'new' messages regarding health (smoking, diet, exercise, preventative care &c) will be second nature to the younger generations (that's if chavvy parents haven't ruined them with a 3 meal a day diet based on McDonalds) and incentives won't actually be necessary.

I honestly don't see a conspiracy here.

reply to post by Merriman Weir


You make some fair points.

I suppose whats at the back of my mind is why kids in 'care'. One of my kids hasn't visited the doctor in years, neither of them get invitations to have annual check ups either. The one who has been to the doctors (over a year ago) didn't have a health check, got some treatment for a fractured hand and sent on his way.

I personally haven't ever had a health check by my doctor or an invitation to do so either. Only ever treated for a particular ailment.

In fact I don't know of any family members who have ever had general health checks either.

Of course it could be that we all attend the same surgery and there is an issue there, it could be that we are supposed to get checks but don't

Originally posted by cazzy2211
reply to post by Merriman Weir

 

You make some fair points.

I suppose whats at the back of my mind is why kids in 'care'. One of my kids hasn't visited the doctor in years, neither of them get invitations to have annual check ups either. The one who has been to the doctors (over a year ago) didn't have a health check, got some treatment for a fractured hand and sent on his way.

I personally haven't ever had a health check by my doctor or an invitation to do so either. Only ever treated for a particular ailment.

In fact I don't know of any family members who have ever had general health checks either.

Of course it could be that we all attend the same surgery and there is an issue there, it could be that we are supposed to get checks but don't

Where I live, close to Manchester, I see regularly see drives and campaigns for different preventative schemes even in places like Boots, nevermind actual surgeries and clinics. Also, most clinics offer things like 'well women clinics' (some more forward-thinking ones also offer 'well men clinics') which are, by-and-large, preventative sessions.

Look at it another way. All dentists in this country advise at least a yearly check-up as it's better to nip any problems in the bud rather than just turn up crying in agony because your teeth are black and have fallen to pieces. I can't see why this is any different.

reply to post by Merriman Weir


We'll need to agree to disagree me thinks lol.

I see a big difference between ALL dentists advising ALL patients to have a regular check up and a targeted group of children being bribed to attend a 'one-off' appointment.

Originally posted by cazzy2211
reply to post by Merriman Weir

 

We'll need to agree to disagree me thinks lol.

I see a big difference between ALL dentists advising ALL patients to have a regular check up and a targeted group of children being bribed to attend a 'one-off' appointment.

But if children in care were the only target, then there might be something to this, however, the article also mentions the people living in damp houses. The way the article is written suggests that there's also other options or incentives, even though it doesn't state what they are.

Whilst there's a journalistic focus on the issue that's easiest to sensationalise - bribing kids with phone vouchers! - the story does cover other elements too. If it was just the kids, then I'd be equally suspicious but the other factors mentioned are legitimate ones that need to be addressed such as the disparity between economic groups in health, how difficult it is to get different demographics into a doctor for a general check-up &c. These are real issues that I've seen raised many times before. It's unlikely that these are being orchestrated as a decoy for nefarious reasons to see children in care; whereas it is likely that a general drive for preventative health would also cover children either in or out of care.

When I see the size of so many kids these days, and think of the health issues that will undoubtedly lie ahead of them, I think it's a good idea they get general check-ups. I'll admit to being 40 and a little overweight myself but I see so many big kids now it's incredible. When I was at school through the 1970s and 1980s, there was always one large kid in the class: the proverbial 'picked last for games'. Now, I'm certain that the large kid has enough similarly-sized friends for teams of his own.

Conversely, on the other side of the spectrum, the other kinds of eating disorders seem to be more prevalent now then ever before with kids. Again, there's serious health implications here too. If schemes can be brought about to help with any of this, I don't think it's a bad idea.

After all, I can't see anywhere in this article that is suggesting mandatory vaccinations or medical trials. It's more likely that this is more about checks, advice and treatment in early stages than anything else.

[edit on 4-10-2008 by Merriman Weir]

how about popping down to your local church for help...

www.strangecosmos.com...

its so funny i had to link to it