This is an interesting article providing much "food for thought". As is so often the case with articles of this kind the burden of sharing information about "overdiagnosis" falls to the clinician - often the rushed and stressed NHS GP. Giving information to patients in language and terms they can understand is, as we all know, one of the important "Duties of the Doctor" according to the GMC. However, this is difficult at the best of times when surgeries are so full and time is so limited but quite impossible in practices where up to 10 or more languages other than English are spoken and understood by our patients.
This article, like so many others suggesting that the clinician should share information with patients, completely fails to mention the urgent need for clinicians to work with librarians (Information Professionals) Librarians look after safe places and offer access to computer services that can offer patients information in almost any language spoken in the UK. For some years all Public libraries have offered a "Universal Health Offer" but now with the coming of the new charity "Libraries Connected" (taking the place of The Society of Chief Librarians) the current "Universal Health Offer" is soon to be revised.
It would be very good indeed if the BMJ led a discussion and debate about this forthcoming "Review of The Universal Health Offer in Public Libraries" so that before long patients and carers - whatever language they prefer - can be given "prescriptions for information by clinicians " to be filled, so to speak, in High Street Learning Centres - i.e. re-purposed High Street Shops located near to our High Street Pharmacies. For too long we have lived in our NHS silo failing all the time to see or understand that "librarians are Health Professionals too" and are keen and willing to work with us to respond to the "information and learning needs of our patients and their carers".
New Vice President to 'honour the past and look to the future' - CILIP ... https://www.cilip.org.uk/page/DavidStewartVP
8 Nov 2017 - CILIP Vice-President VP David-Stewart Board Election Health .... You cannot have a profession without a professional body and all the ethics, ...
Libraries Connected | https://www.librariesconnected.org.uk/
Libraries Connected believes in the power of libraries to change lives. Our vision is an inclusive, modern, sustainable and high quality public library service at ...
Competing interests:
No competing interests
23 August 2018
Malcolm S Rigler
Retired GP and Health Policy adviser at Partners in Health (Midland) Ltd.
Rapid Response:
Re: Overdiagnosis and the cancer label
This is an interesting article providing much "food for thought". As is so often the case with articles of this kind the burden of sharing information about "overdiagnosis" falls to the clinician - often the rushed and stressed NHS GP. Giving information to patients in language and terms they can understand is, as we all know, one of the important "Duties of the Doctor" according to the GMC. However, this is difficult at the best of times when surgeries are so full and time is so limited but quite impossible in practices where up to 10 or more languages other than English are spoken and understood by our patients.
This article, like so many others suggesting that the clinician should share information with patients, completely fails to mention the urgent need for clinicians to work with librarians (Information Professionals) Librarians look after safe places and offer access to computer services that can offer patients information in almost any language spoken in the UK. For some years all Public libraries have offered a "Universal Health Offer" but now with the coming of the new charity "Libraries Connected" (taking the place of The Society of Chief Librarians) the current "Universal Health Offer" is soon to be revised.
It would be very good indeed if the BMJ led a discussion and debate about this forthcoming "Review of The Universal Health Offer in Public Libraries" so that before long patients and carers - whatever language they prefer - can be given "prescriptions for information by clinicians " to be filled, so to speak, in High Street Learning Centres - i.e. re-purposed High Street Shops located near to our High Street Pharmacies. For too long we have lived in our NHS silo failing all the time to see or understand that "librarians are Health Professionals too" and are keen and willing to work with us to respond to the "information and learning needs of our patients and their carers".
New Vice President to 'honour the past and look to the future' - CILIP ...
https://www.cilip.org.uk/page/DavidStewartVP
8 Nov 2017 - CILIP Vice-President VP David-Stewart Board Election Health .... You cannot have a profession without a professional body and all the ethics, ...
Libraries Connected |
https://www.librariesconnected.org.uk/
Libraries Connected believes in the power of libraries to change lives. Our vision is an inclusive, modern, sustainable and high quality public library service at ...
Competing interests: No competing interests