All Scrubbed Up

GP's tend to deal with a lot of depression and anxiety (and I'm not talking about our own... who tends to us? Another question. Another post). Is there more depression and anxiety in the 21st century or are we just getting better at recognising it? The middle of the 20th century saw the rise in early recognition and treatment of psychiatric illnesses. In fact, most of the stigmas surrounding psychiatry, psychologists and psychological drugs were put to bed in the late 70's and early 80's. The rise of Freud and Mommy-consoling. They were heady days. Back to the present – something is definitely up. It feels like at least 1 out of every 3 patients I see is on some type of an antidepressant or mood stabiliser. I used to have a professor who joked that lithium should be put into the water. Quick, painless alleviation of most of our problems. Imagine a world where the traffic driver is too stoned to cut you off. Wait. They are stoned. And still cut us off? Well, I did say “m...

Here are some pics from the journey... All the equipment is attached to the back wall above the patient - very nice and compact. A tiny drawer stocked with more drugs than I've seen in a while! All the equipment fits into drawers the size of a food trolley! And everything packed into a small compartment, snug between all the passengers.

On very short notice, I was asked to transport a quadraplegic patient to Miami for medical treatment. This might seem like a small task, but you've got to remember that a quadraplegic patient cannot sit in a normal chair unassisted - plus they have a higher rate of complication (basically anything going wrong). Hence the need for dedicated medical staff. And a some pretty funky medical technology... Introducing the Lufthansa PTC (Patient Transport Compartment). This is an amazing self-contained unit that fits into the middle of the plane to transport all ICU and critically ill patients. The patient is placed on the bed in the unit and the Lufthansa nurses and a doctor (me, in this case) stay with them in the unit. What made this PTC so amazing was how well equipped it was. There were ventilators, all kinds of monitors, IV injection pumps and the largest stock of ICU / anaesthetic meds and equipment that I've ever seen. It was definitely better than the ICU I worked in at Helen ...

We'd just like to say... if you're getting this kind of advice from your health professional?! CHANGE! Har. Har. Anyway... Round is a shape. Pah. Q: I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life; is this true? A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it... don't waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap. Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables? A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a Goat eat? Hay and corn. And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Mutton is also a food source of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable products. Q: Sh...

I’m back! Article about flying patients around soon. With photographic evidence… But first. Helping with the Whipples the other day got me thinking. The patient in question has a really bad Pancreatic Carcinoma and has quite severe abdominal pain. The prognosis is poor. Probably 3 months. By doing this palliative whipples (you can do the op for other reasons) - she will first need to recover, but then should have less pain. The catch is - she is still going to die. We have not solved her cancer problem. We have probably extended her life by 9 months. Here’s the second catch. She has no medical aid. All the theatre costs, ICU, ward stay, doctor and anaethetist will be paid out of her pocket! It could come to a quiet R100k. Now is that worth it? Many would say yes. You can’t put a price on life can you? But I’m skeptical. If I had pancreatic cancer, and I had 3 months to live, I wouldn’t want to spend my money having a huge operation, whiling away the time, drugged up in hos...