Comments on Dr Rant: Who really needs a check up?

and then work out that there will be no extension ...

2008-04-10T17:58:00.000+01:00

and then work out that there will be no extension to the hospital labs opening hours....

no need. Emergency blood tests are done stat, any hour of the day or night, MOT ones can wait.

I think that you underestimate the politicians. No...

2008-04-09T20:10:00.000+01:00

I think that you underestimate the politicians. Now that there is pressure to provide a service 8am - 8pm 7 days per week, the "MOT" checks are clearly designed to create a demand for the extra hours.

Just wait until everyone realises what the words "fasting blood test" mean, and then work out that there will be no extension to the hospital labs opening hours....

We are all doomed

have few symptoms or they develop so slowly that t...

2008-04-09T17:18:00.000+01:00

have few symptoms or they develop so slowly that they are taken to be normal ageing

Yes indeed.

I am so sorry about your mother, Jane; that is disgraceful.

As jayann mentions, many common conditions have fe...

2008-04-09T14:22:00.000+01:00

As jayann mentions, many common conditions have few symptoms or they develop so slowly that they are taken to be normal ageing. Type 2 diabetes is an obvious example. An estimated 750,000 are currently undiagnosed. Many people with type 2 diabetes have had it for years and are diagnosed because of complications that could have been avoided if a simple blood test had been done several years before. Not only does it have the potential to increase the patient's quality of life, it would also save the NHS money.

It's not even possible just to target high risk groups such as those that are overweight since 20% of type 2s are normal weight, but it would be a start. However, even prime candidates for testing are missed under the current system. My mother-in-law was obese and sedentary; an obvious candidate for type 2 testing. She found out she had type 2 after a heart attack and died a few months later, aged 60. Chances are the heart attack was caused by having diabetes for several years though it's impossible to prove of course.

I really needed a checkup. Luckily I was voluntee...

2008-04-08T16:46:00.000+01:00

I really needed a checkup. Luckily I was volunteered for BioBank. 2.5 months, some monitoring, and diet and exercise changes, later, my BP's fine.
My father really needed a checkup; his diabetes was diagnosed late.
My mother could have done with a checkup, it would have spotted her thyroid problem (unsuspected because she lacked a major symptom).
Etc..

I thought this idea was really worrying when I rea...

2008-04-07T22:09:00.000+01:00

I thought this idea was really worrying when I read it in the newspaper. Parmacists are going to do health-MOT's and doctors are going to see lots of patients extra to reassure them after further investigations.
I read that this is also happening with patients who get a private paid total body scan, ending by going to the GP to ask for further investigations and in the end, almost always, nothing is wrong. I was wondering if there had been consulted any doctor before this idea was published.

I wonder how many men will turn up when they reali...

2008-04-07T19:44:00.000+01:00

I wonder how many men will turn up when they realise that a finger up the bum is on the cards?

Life is a sexually transmitted disease with a 100%...

2008-04-07T09:02:00.000+01:00

Life is a sexually transmitted disease with a 100% mortality rate.

And if you give up drinking, smoking, drugs, fight...

2008-04-06T21:31:00.000+01:00

And if you give up drinking, smoking, drugs, fighting and fucking, do you really live longer or does it just feel like it?

We are conceived, a bit of time passes, we die. Af...

2008-04-06T21:28:00.000+01:00

We are conceived, a bit of time passes, we die. After dying is Death. Deathe is a mirror image of before conception - also Death. Death is oblivion; not even blackness. Once you are dead you are so dead there isn't even a you to know that you once existed.

So whether Death arrives a few minutes after conception, or a hundred years, it aint going to make any difference to you, personally.

So fuckin' enjoy it while you've got it 'cos you're a long time dead. In the meantime, make use of the mechanics provided (called Doctors) to keep you ticking over through all the abuse you impose on yourself during the process called 'Life'. But don't think they can stop you from dying 'cos they can't. It's only a matter of time. And remember, it's better to burn out than fade away. Just so long as you enjoyed the burn.

Don't worry Dr Rant, you're not alone. I, for one,...

2008-04-06T19:19:00.000+01:00

Don't worry Dr Rant, you're not alone. I, for one, will not be attending my GP for a health MOT. Not now, not ever, whatever incentives are placed before me to attend.

48 year old bloke