Sometimes simple truths can fall prey to expediency. If I think I
have
appendicitis, I would wish urgently to consult a surgeon. If I think I
may
have swine ‘flu, the diagnosis in the UK is now be based not on a medical
examination but on the National Pandemic telephone and internet Flu
Service, who offer diagnostic advice and commonly prescribe oseltamivir.
How can the profession and the public take seriously the many widely
circulated statistics of diagnosis, prevalence, morbidity or mortality of
any
non-specific symptom complex in patients seen by neither doctor nor
nurse? And on what basis do we permit the prescription of potentially
toxic
drugs by unqualified personnel? Is it possible to even speculate about
numbers of cases or second waves without a doctor's diagnosis.
What happened to our sense of duty and responsibility to the sick?
Under
the prevailing politically driven ‘management’ of the epidemic it is
impossible to make robust diagnoses, without which there can be no valid
data of clinical features, management, epidemiology or predictions.
Rapid Response:
second wave swine 'flu
Sometimes simple truths can fall prey to expediency. If I think I
have
appendicitis, I would wish urgently to consult a surgeon. If I think I
may
have swine ‘flu, the diagnosis in the UK is now be based not on a medical
examination but on the National Pandemic telephone and internet Flu
Service, who offer diagnostic advice and commonly prescribe oseltamivir.
How can the profession and the public take seriously the many widely
circulated statistics of diagnosis, prevalence, morbidity or mortality of
any
non-specific symptom complex in patients seen by neither doctor nor
nurse? And on what basis do we permit the prescription of potentially
toxic
drugs by unqualified personnel? Is it possible to even speculate about
numbers of cases or second waves without a doctor's diagnosis.
What happened to our sense of duty and responsibility to the sick?
Under
the prevailing politically driven ‘management’ of the epidemic it is
impossible to make robust diagnoses, without which there can be no valid
data of clinical features, management, epidemiology or predictions.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests