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Staying Alive: How to Get the Best From the NHS
In this committed and compassionate book, Phil Hammond - a doctor, journalist, campaigner and patient - argues for a bidet revolution in the NHS - from the bottom up, with patients leading the charge. What we can do for ourselves to live well often far outweighs what modern medicine and the NHS can do for us. And when we do need to use the NHS, getting involved, speaking up and sharing our expertise can improve not just our care, but the care of others. We won't always succeed, but we can learn from failure as we try to get the best care possible in our precious and precarious health service. Dr Phil shares his own experiences of working in and investigating the NHS for 30 years, and combines it with the testimony and tactics of inspirational patients and carers. Some have survived and thrived in the NHS, some are planning a gentle death at home, and some have suffered greatly but are determined to improve the NHS so others don't have to.
- GenresNonfictionHealth
304 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 2014
7 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 4, 2015
A good book in want of a good editor to organise it. Well, maybe to address Phil Hammond's acronym creating addiction too. (Sorry Phil, that's starting feedback with a negative which you've told us not to do...)
It is a modern version of the kind of book many households used to keep on their shelves. Less of an A-Z of diseases or guide to symptoms than a health and illness companion through life, a guide to getting the best out of the National Health Service. Its heart couldn't be in a better place. I question the impact of some of the choices he makes to express his ideas: for example, in a section talking about home birth which I believe was intended to stress that it is a safe option which should be better supported, the only two stories he chooses to tell are dramatic and scary transfers - which make good points which are irrelevant to planned place of birth. He writes about his work with Action for Young People with ME... yet uses the term chronic fatigue syndrome preferentially. The book jumps about an awful lot and valuable emergency information is buried where it would be inaccessible at point of need. Further references are also scattered.
The book is strong on it being your life and should be your choices, that whilst we might sometimes be failed by the system we have responsibilities too and shows by a variety of examples where people have got second opinions, declined treatment, been creative, been assertive. I was particularly moved by the piece by the mother of a child who might have had proton beam therapy in the US... but who stayed and had the radiotherapy offered by the NHS because of the family circumstances (not a funding issue) at the time and who now lives with some of the adverse effects of that treatment.
Phil Hammond is full of a robust and useful compassion (rightly to his colleagues as well as the rest of us) In this book there's none of the smart alecky smugness you get from than certain otherwise excellent writers in this area, and the things he has to say deserve presenting in a way which will be read and referred to often.
It is a modern version of the kind of book many households used to keep on their shelves. Less of an A-Z of diseases or guide to symptoms than a health and illness companion through life, a guide to getting the best out of the National Health Service. Its heart couldn't be in a better place. I question the impact of some of the choices he makes to express his ideas: for example, in a section talking about home birth which I believe was intended to stress that it is a safe option which should be better supported, the only two stories he chooses to tell are dramatic and scary transfers - which make good points which are irrelevant to planned place of birth. He writes about his work with Action for Young People with ME... yet uses the term chronic fatigue syndrome preferentially. The book jumps about an awful lot and valuable emergency information is buried where it would be inaccessible at point of need. Further references are also scattered.
The book is strong on it being your life and should be your choices, that whilst we might sometimes be failed by the system we have responsibilities too and shows by a variety of examples where people have got second opinions, declined treatment, been creative, been assertive. I was particularly moved by the piece by the mother of a child who might have had proton beam therapy in the US... but who stayed and had the radiotherapy offered by the NHS because of the family circumstances (not a funding issue) at the time and who now lives with some of the adverse effects of that treatment.
Phil Hammond is full of a robust and useful compassion (rightly to his colleagues as well as the rest of us) In this book there's none of the smart alecky smugness you get from than certain otherwise excellent writers in this area, and the things he has to say deserve presenting in a way which will be read and referred to often.
February 16, 2019
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I have had the privilege of hearing Phil talk at the Royal College of Paediatric Christmas lecture and was enthused by his satire and yet refreshingly positive attitude towards the NHS. We all live in a society and need to be better at dropping CLANGERS. A great read.
June 24, 2018
It is sub-titled "This book could save your life". It has saved mine!
We should all drop a CLANGER every day: Connect; Learn; be Active; take Notice; Give back; Eat well; Relax; Sleep.
Quite early on in the book Dr Phil points out that the chances of a man having prostate cancer is about 10 x that of a woman having cervical cancer. We routinely screen for cervical cancer but not prostate cancer. The problem with the PSA blood test for prostate cancer is that it produces 23 false positives for everyone with significant cancer, many more men die with prostate cancer than die of prostate cancer, and the test also produces false negatives. Getting tested can just lead to unnecessary worry.
As my father died of prostate cancer (at age 92), and I am not a woorier, I decided to get tested even though I had no obvious symptoms.
My PSA test was positive so I had an MRI followed by a biopsy of any area which looked suspicious, and I was diagnosed with locally advanced prostate cancer. Within 2 weeks of the diagnosis I was called into hospital and I had my prostate out on 28th March. My PSA is back to normal and I appear to be clear of cancer.
But I found the whole book relevant and readable with advice to empower patients and encouragement to GP's to be more open.
I should design a CLANGERS poster explaining the acronym and showing characters from the children's TV series for GP surgeries.
We should all drop a CLANGER every day: Connect; Learn; be Active; take Notice; Give back; Eat well; Relax; Sleep.
Quite early on in the book Dr Phil points out that the chances of a man having prostate cancer is about 10 x that of a woman having cervical cancer. We routinely screen for cervical cancer but not prostate cancer. The problem with the PSA blood test for prostate cancer is that it produces 23 false positives for everyone with significant cancer, many more men die with prostate cancer than die of prostate cancer, and the test also produces false negatives. Getting tested can just lead to unnecessary worry.
As my father died of prostate cancer (at age 92), and I am not a woorier, I decided to get tested even though I had no obvious symptoms.
My PSA test was positive so I had an MRI followed by a biopsy of any area which looked suspicious, and I was diagnosed with locally advanced prostate cancer. Within 2 weeks of the diagnosis I was called into hospital and I had my prostate out on 28th March. My PSA is back to normal and I appear to be clear of cancer.
But I found the whole book relevant and readable with advice to empower patients and encouragement to GP's to be more open.
I should design a CLANGERS poster explaining the acronym and showing characters from the children's TV series for GP surgeries.
October 26, 2021
Plenty of general advise about staying well and navigating the NHS if you don't. Basically, ask questions, take notes, get a copy of letters, know what the standard of care is (e.g., the NICE pathways) and generally engage with your illness rather than let the service know best. Also: many stories from individuals, describe their experiences and setting out their advice.
November 21, 2018
Brilliant. Regardless of your position in the NHS.
May 17, 2021
I go to the doctor a lot and this has made me so much more proactive and assertive. The writer talks about how to take care of your own healthcare. The most important point is that is it YOUR body and YOU are the conection between all of the specialists. YOU must insist in what you want and never stop if it doesnt feel right.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews