The Mail on Sunday’s alarmist article End of the doctors surgery? GP visits to be replaced by Skype consultations in bid to save NHS £3bn (MailOnline version with 340+ comments) only needed a mention of the 3millionlives (3ML) initiative to turn it from a mess into a complete mess. So much for the value of Ministerial endorsement, when one of the UK’s major Sunday papers can do this to a policy announcement. And the Labour opposition’s Andy Burnham should have known better than to wade in.
For a GP’s view, see Margaret McCartney’s blog (and comments): Loneliness and Telehealth. She may have taken the Mail’s headline too seriously but it is symptomatic of the kind of anti-telehealth press readers can expect to see as the profile of telehealth is raised.
Another example of half the story told. I understand that people have commented at the bottom of this article about how they can check their blood pressure over Skype!!! If the information was provided then they would have a better understanding.
Very surprise Andy Burnham is against this, it wasn’t so long ago he was championing Telehealth systems that include video (as many on the market now do), politics at its best.
However,
Let us not mix up the term Telehealth with the use of video. There are systems in use that do not need PCs / Laptops / smart phones to converse with patients / service users via their own TV if necessary and appropriate. These systems also have the added benefit of not being just for health use but can be accessed by social care / private sector / voluntary sector or even family and friends.
‘The old and vulnerable will be left behind’. OR will they simply still go to the surgery OH NO they can’t because according to the article all the surgeries will be closed down. OR the elderley might even be assisted where needed.
The Mail appears to be all for 19th century medicine so leaving the old and ‘crippled’ out in the cold winter could be right up their street.