UK Health Service

While much of the NHS is working well, some parts are slowly deteriorating. Why is this and what can we do about it?

There are more elderly people as many are not dying early of preventable disease. But older people suffer more from chronic disease, requiring more doctors, time, medecines, operations and tests.

Modern medicine offers new and improved treatments and medications, which typically cost more.

Currently over half of new medical students are female, who at some point may wish to work part-time to balance work and family commitments. Increasingly some male doctors also want part-time work to share in child-rearing. To get the same number of 'whole-time equivalents' requires training more doctors.

Hospitals are expensive to run so with over half of surgery is carried out as day case, managers have closed beds to keep within budgets. Unfortunately, an increasing number of elderly patients cannot return to their homes, or only with significant community support, and stay in hospital when they no longer need medical care.

All solutions to the above involve significant amounts of money. Politicians play distraction games; an example is blaming doctors for the 'weekend effect' when those doctors who found the effect very specifically state that cannot explain what it is due to.

Rationing is not honestly discussed but already happens by default. Long waiting lists will, in some cases, result in poorer outcomes and even death before diagnosis and treatment. GP appointments used to be very short to keep up with demand; today longer appointments mean longer waits to see a GP and more people visit Casualty departments, increasing pressure there.

Various sources

Religions

Some aspects of religious belief have explicit benefits; these do not justify the truth of religions but do offer explanations of why religion evolved.

• Provide explanatory structure to the universe so that we feel we can control it (plausible but not true)
• Make people feel better about life (actively religious people are happier)
• Provide a moral code and social order (help community building)
• Provide a community and group membership (help community building) 

Religious intolerance is common and pervades all societies. Fundamentalism is not new nor restricted to specific religions, and also occurs in political parties. Humans, like all primates, tend to form groups and to prefer members of their own group. In every society change takes place at an uneven rate; some groups embrace change, others are disturbed by it. Fundamentalism occurs when a group feels it is losing power; rigid physical and mental disciplines are intended to 'strengthen' the group. Fundamentalist movements tend to be led by key charismatic individuals, whose role is to call the faithfull to action. 

Theology (critical study of concepts of God and of the nature of religious ideas) is not important in any religion, except in Christianity. Other religions have no orthodoxy, no complicated creeds to which everyone must subscribe and no infallible pronouncements but instead are based on orthopraxy (right practice).

Judaism: Judaism is an ancient monotheistic religion, with the Torah as its foundational text (part of the larger text known as the Tanakh or Hebrew Bible), and supplemental oral tradition represented by later texts such as the Midrash and the Talmud. Christianity and Islam both grew out of Judaism.

Christianity: An Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ as presented in the New Testament. Creeds set out the basic beliefs of Christians, who also accept the Ten Commandments of Judaism. There are now a number of different  branches, the main ones being Catholicism, Protestantism and Orthodox.
Jesus was brought up in the Jewish faith (Judaism) and could have been one of the disciples of leading Pharisee Rabbi Hillel. Hillel taught a Golden Rule: 'Do not do unto others that which you would not have done to you'. Jesus altered this into a positive statement 'Do unto others that which you would have them do unto you'. However, it takes more discipline to refrain from harming others and is easier to be a do-gooder and project your needs and desires onto other people.

Hinduism: Despite having over 50 gods, with a supreme trinity of Siva, Brahma and Vishnu, there is a belief in a single, omnipotent deity. The gods represent individual aspects of ‘god’ and people choose which to pray to (e.g. a young girl would relate more easily to the goddess Lakshmi). One of their festivals is Diwali. The Hindu mystic Ramakrisha set out 3 fundamental attitudes: personal humility, respect for other sentient creatures, and a sense of reverence (for God).

Sikhism: Monotheistic breakaway from Hinduism. Founded by Guru Nanuk in 16^Th C. There are three visual emblems: small symbolic sword, bangle, uncut hair in turban – but today these are less universally observed. Priesthood of the laity; women and men have equal status when performing rites. Meetings are an essentially communal activity and food is always provided and consumed after the service.

Islam: A monotheistic and Abrahamic religion set out in the Qur'an, a religious text thought by its followers to be the actual word of God (Allāh), and, for the vast majority of them, by the teachings and example (the sunnah, composed of accounts called hadith) of Muhammad (c. 570–8 June 632 CE), considered by most of them to be the last prophet of God. Doctrinaire and prescriptive; theological certainty and strict obligations. There is no creed but Muslims are required to perform prostrate prayer at specified times each day, fasting at Ramadan, hajj pilgrimage and giving alms.

Various sources including:
Karen Armstrong: The Spiral Staircase. Harper Perennial, 2005.
Robert Winston: The Story of God. Bantam Press, 2005.
Wikipedia entries

Fruit Cake Tips

When chopping dried fruit for a cake, chill the fruit first. This will make cutting easier, and you won't end up with a sticky mess on your knife or chopping board.

Source: Good Housekeeping, November 2016

Moving Contacts to a New Smartphone

If you are moving to the same type of phone, use iCloud, your Google account or Microsoft account (depending on which type of phone it is) to back up your current device. (For a how-to, visit goodhousekeeping.co.uk/back-up-your-smartphone).

Switch the new device on to be walked through the steps for setting it up. When you come to the screen that asks you if you have an Apple ID, a Google or Microsoft account (again depending on the type of phone you have) enter the account details and make sure youselect the option that says 'Restore from last back up of this account'.

To move contacts between different makes of phone, see goodhousekeeping.co.uk/how-to-move-contacts.

Feature in Good Housekeeping, September 2016

Health Checks

It's up to us to keep an eye on our health. It is easier to deal with problems if they are caught early, so contact your surgery or take up the offers of screening programmes.

• High blood pressure (above 140/90mm Hg) is symptom-free. If you are over 40, get it checked at least every 5 years.
• Blood sugar levels. In non-diabetics, readings should be 4.0 to 5.9mmol/L before meals, rising to no more than 7.8mmol/L an hour and a half after eating.
• Cholesterol - measured with a simple finger prick. Total cholesterol should be below 5mmol/L if you are otherwise healthy, but also important is the ratio between total cholesterol and HDL cholesterol. 
• Body mass index (BMI) is a useful general indicator of whether your weight is healthy for your height but has its limitations - muscles weigh more than fat, so very fit athletes can have a high BMI. 
• Waist measurement: A high waist measurement is a risk factor for diabetes. Measure around your belly button, not where your trousers sit and don't suck in. Women should measure less than 31.5 inches, and men less than 37 inches.
• Changes in bowel habits (constipation, then diarrhoea and/or blood in your stools) should be investigated. An NHS screening programme for bowel cancer (the Faecal Occult Blood test) is available to anyone aged 60-74 (5--74 in Scotland); a home test kit is sent every 2 years through the post. Bowel scope screening is being introduced to those over 55.

Men

• Abdominal aortic aneurysm is a dangerous swelling of a blood vessel but usually causes no symptoms. NHS screening is offered when you are 65.
• Check testicles for lumps, increases in firmness or unusual difference between one testicle and the other. Report any worries to a GP.
• There is no prostate cancer screening, so keep an eye out for symptoms - going to the loo more often, feel a need to go urgently but little coming out, or blood in urine or semen.

Women

• Woman aged 50-70 are automatically invited for breast cancer screeening every 3 years, and the NHS is currently moving to screeening from 47 to 73.
• Keep an eye on your breasts and look for any changes in size, texture (puckering, dimpling or thickeningo f skin), nipple discharge or moist, red areas on a nipple that don't heal easily.
• Cervical cancer is symptomless at first. Cervical screeening is offered every three years for those aged 25-49, and every five years for those aged 50-64. Over 65s are only screened if they have not been screened since the age of 50 or have recently had abnormal test results.

Feature in Good Housekeeping, August 2016