Health Forum at the Royal Society of Medicine

THE MUSLIM WEEKLY 2004
My inquisitive mind and my not so tender age led me to this venue last Wednesday. Although the main focus was on Rheumatoid Arthritis, other contemporary health issues were also amply discussed. Thus, the following being a narrative of what I learnt.

As a patient it is important to remain positive in the face of adversity, focus on being a survivor rather than a victim. 'The Placebo effect' (Perceived improvement in health not attributable to treatment) is possibly a result of this psychological stance. However, in a world where medicine as well as diseases are changing rapidly, a relational and consultative approach to patients was essential where public confidence would lead to clinical excellence. (Not vice versa, argued Michael Greco of the NHS Modernisation Agency)

People need to learn how to deal with suffering, therefore doctors need to utilize their interpersonal skills. Presently, a lack of time leads to patients not being able to discuss other issues that maybe of concern to them, apart from their medication. So, it is understandable that 30-50% of medications prescribed in the UK are either not taken or not taken properly. Michael Von Staten of LBC Radio and chair for the evening, raised a pertinent question that perhaps medical schools were gearing students to be academic high flyers while phasing out the compassionate albeit academically average student who might be more appropriate for the profession.

To shed more light, a survey by US Medical Insurance companies found that only a small amount of patients sued doctors that they liked while a large number sued the more able though comparatively aloof experts, even over minor issues.

Ailsa Bosworth (Chairman: National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society) pointed out that Patient Support groups were necessary, although pitting busy young mums in the same group as old-age pensioners led to obvious complications.

As with any disease, early diagnosis was crucial. So, it's of concern that some GPs are dismissive of children's symptoms e.g a childhood migraine maybe due to the child not wanting to go to school. It is agreed that poor nutrition results from a high level of unwanted chemicals in our diet. Today's chicken being mainly a composition of water and chemicals being a case in point. The alternative is to eat organic food, which in many cases is only marginally more expensive.

Vitamin D is hardly existent, which is absolutely essential for our diets (obtained from oily fish, fat milk or sunlight). In the last 50 years we have lost a huge amount of nutrients necessary for our diet. The fashionable Atkins diet can lead to irreparable kidney damage and other serious problems.

According to Von Staten, alternatives to modern medicine such as acupuncture, osteopathy, homeopathy, reflexology, herbalism et al should be complimentary and not a replacement as that would be a recipe for disaster.

Dr. Taher Mahmud (medical director of the Arthritis Centre) found that Rheumatoid Arthritis was globally high amongst Native American Indians and in Jamaica, with the UK not far behind (totaling about 1% of the total population)

Annie karim (Head of Physiotherapy at princess Grace Hospital London) talked about the virtues of Hydrotherapy pools being good for dealing with joint problems while Professor Ingvar Bjarnason (Kings College London) made the point that certain diseases are much more prevalent in society than terrorism but attract only a fraction of the resources.

In a Postulating question that I put to the panel about whether our modern lifestyle was responsible for many of the common ailments today, I received the following range of responses:

That the Pattern of diseases had certainly changed, stress and trauma is thought to be affected by our lifestyle, heart diseases and cancer had increased while one described us as living in a mechanised society and going 'back to basics' was imperative to rid us of the ills of civilization.