For patients, healthcare can be overwhelming
Public health systems are a cornerstone of any thriving society, ensuring that all individuals –regardless of financial status – receive care when needed. For years Public Health systems have been news fodder on any given day. So much so that we are now in a boy-called-wolf situation.
The system has trundled along in a cumbersome relentless manner for decades. Regardless of headlines when we need them, we expect them to be there, delivering care even if in a slow and bureaucratic way. So will we recognise when the system is really on its knees or even flat on its face. When protective rules and regulations drive the system not the clinicians who are literally a cog in the wheel.
The book aims to give insight into not just the system but the clinician in front of you so that with some very simple tools you can save yourself and the system time and money while getting better care.
The why of this book
This book was supposed to be more foot related I am a podiatrist after all. Instead, I found over 20 years of professional frustration spilling across the page. While every public health system is a managed organisation it is owned by society, and it is time that people stepped up to the plate of their own healthcare. This book aims to help with this. That means understanding the system you are being treated in and basic skills for getting what you need out of it. The aim is to give insight into not just the system but the clinician in front of you so that with some very simple tools you can save yourself and the system time and money while getting better care.
Tech is seen by some as the great saviour. Certainly, it helps that one can now read colleague's notes without a degree in Sanskrit, but there are multiple systems used across hospitals and communities, these are tools not replacements.
The ongoing refrain is that public health systems need more money. No one is going to refuse funding but when there are no staff to recruit, when the existing staff are exhausted from a pandemic and decades of understaffing when the ratio of medical staff to over 60 is sliding the wrong way and so many other reasons just chucking money at it is not going to keep a public health system going.
Navigating the Healthcare System aims to help with this. That means understanding the system you are being treated in and basic skills for getting what you need out of it. When proof reading this I saw gaps where more could be added but this was about accessibility and creating a tool not writing war and peace.
What readers say...
“A clear, practical guide for people using the NHS to get the best out of it. Useful tips like having a book you write down all appointments and all results in so if there is illness etc acrosss different departments, you are not delayed while basic records are obtained (and also a backup if things get missed). Invaluable.” MTC
Great book to help understand and take charge of your own health! I love that each chapter had takeaway bullet points, good way to go back for a summary if and when it’s needed. I will be recommending this book to family and friends :) BW
Having worked in the NHS with medical professionals, this book was very helpful and insightful. Some people think their questions are silly, there's no silly question and it's very useful to have clear pathways, with no jargon. We need more books like this to show patients/people they are not alone and how to find the help they need and where to apply as there are so many confusing options out there. Would definitely recommend.
Navigating the health system can be challenging, the anxiety of being ill or supporting someone who is ill, the complexity of the system and the propensity for communication difficulties can combine to make a difficult situation horrendous. 'Navigating the Healthcare system' by Ina Farrelly provides guidance and support for people in this situation. This is a clear and insightful book, Ina writes with compassion, understanding and an expert knowledge of health systems. MM