From Monday, GP practices across the country will use posters to promote Jess’s rule, a new system aimed at preventing serious illnesses from being missed and needless deaths. It is named after Jessica Brady, a 27-year-old who contacted her surgery 20 times before dying of cancer in 2020. Jess’s rule urges family doctors to consider a second opinion, conduct a face-to-face physical examination or order more tests if a patient has had three appointments for their symptoms but no diagnosis.
Another piece of legislation named after a victim, and we all know how useful they often turn out to be, don't we, Reader?
Posters advertising Jess’s rule have been sent to all 6,170 GP practices in England. The system was launched in September but the new posters will boost patient safety by reminding GPs to rethink initial assumptions, ministers said.
Will they? There are posters up in every single place of work, and public areas like train stations, and after the first day, how much notice is taken of them?
The posters were co-designed by Brady’s parents, Andrea and Simon Brady, NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care. GP surgeries will also receive a letter from Streeting and NHS England’s national medical director, Dr Claire Fuller, stressing the importance of Jess’s rule.
Which will go straight in the bin, because if something isn't backed up by consequences for failure, it's not worth the paper you'e printing these posters on.
But it seems the case that brought about this entire policy is yet another 'gift' from the Covid hysteria:
Jessica, an engineer for Airbus, contacted her GP surgery about 20 times in six months before her death in 2020, reporting symptoms including abdominal pain, coughing, vomiting and weight loss. Owing to restrictions during the pandemic, she was offered virtual appointments and prescribed medications including antibiotics and steroids. She was also told she may have long Covid. She was finally diagnosed with cancer that had spread throughout her body, but only after her mother paid for her to see a doctor privately.
You gave the NHS the chance to slack off and not treat patients while still getting paid using a bad bout of the flu as an excuse, and this happened. You're not fixing this with posters.
In my experience most Doctors' surgeries and NHS hospitals are covered in posters. The walls contain many noticeboards and many have rolling TV programs extolling something. There are so many posters that anything important is lost and overwhelmed.
ReplyDeletePass a law that all posters must show an expiration date (and that a noticeboard monitor mast be appointed) and I'll start paying attention - even if it is nanny Statism gone mad.
There are still Covid warning posters up at some places, I've seen them!
DeleteForty-seven posters in my GP surgery. I counted them, but I didn't read anything useful on any of them. Naturally my apointment was with a nurse, not the doctor I haven't seen in four years. There was a rolling screen too.
ReplyDeleteRhoda K
To see your doctor try the golf course or the Jaguar showroom.
DeleteOur surgery has several rolling scrteens, and one of them has shown the start screen text for years, either broken or none of the reception dragons can operate it..
Delete