17 May 2008

The virtual polyclinic

Just what is a polyclinic? Is it just a bunch of GPs forced to abandon traditional surgeries around the corner from patients' homes? Or is it a small hospital with some GPs thrown in? Might it even be part of a large hospital? Could it have a medical admissions unit or a high dependency unit? Might there be a CT or MRI scanner? Or could it be a base for community nurses? Or perhaps it could be a place where people are advised how to stay well? Or maybe they could get alternative therapies there? Or could there be a swimming pool or even a gym? And maybe a health food shop? Does Lord Darzi have it clear in his own mind? Find out in the video.


9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Happy sunny Sunday, Dr Grumble!

This witch has a great affinity for computers. I regard my computer as a useful friendly thing. We have a kind of symbiosis. I wish, then, I knew the reason why I find computer simulation such as this really, really, depressing. Truly - this witch's mood goes down when watching things like this. Computer games have the same effect. The mood plummets even more when I realise that this is about the NHS and is supposed to be taken seriously. This is not a computer game.

This serious side effect must be due to some kind of wayward mediator that we witches have in our brains. We become really sad when people, architecture, plants, trees and nature are reduced to this.

This kind of thing, of course, is designed to appeal to a young, healthy population. Those who played computer games in their prams.

Why?

Is it to help keep them healthy?

I think not.

It is marketing the young so they will spend money on polyfilla and putty.

Incidently, by coincidence, just before clicking on your site I had been looking at this.

HEALTHCARE FOR LONDON

It "forecasts a vision of how healthcare environments of the future could exist within a metaverse"

Metaverse indeed!

Dr Grumble said...

You and your Black Cat have been to the very same site as Dr Grumble. There you can apparently lead a whole virtual life in a figment of the Darzi imagination. But will they let a Black Cat in?

You won't see many elderly folk in the virtual polyclinic. They won't be able to get there. The whole concept is, as you say, designed to appeal to the young.

You and your Black Cat know very well why. We have a duty to try and alert the chronic sick and elderly who won't have a second life. Second lives are only for the young. How clever of Lord Darzi to sell his concept to those least in need.

This clever focussing on the young reminds Dr Grumble of the American health insurance companies that advertise to the well by pasting their advertisements on the bottom of swimming pools. Clever that. Lord Darzi is not daft. Not daft at all.

Thinking about it, maybe with nine lives a Black Cat could have second health. Have a go Black Cat. It might be interesting. And tell Dr Grumble if you see any old people in Darzi's polyclinic. Or will it just be youngsters with splinters?

Anonymous said...

I have put this idea to My Black Cat, Dr Grumble, but she does not want to reveal her identity to Lord Darzi at this stage.

She thinks registering may be a fly trap set up for blogging cats!

She's nuts!

Anyway, I persevered and tried to reassure her that nobody in the DOH is remotely interested in her.

So, a compromise has been struck. She has a friend - a beautiful but ferocious marmalade and white, non-blogging, male witch cat who will register instead and pass on all the relevant information in due course.

You might say a Second Health spy system is being set up.

They better watch out once the witches cats are in town!

Dr Grumble said...

Your Black Cat is very wise. She's probably not on her first life.

One of Dr G's lawyer friends was very surprised to discover that Google knows her star sign. I suspect Google knows a lot more about her than just that. You can't be too careful.

Anonymous said...

The Polycling in the video seem to have doctors left, right and centre! No nurses, practitioners .. etc on site! Life is soo rosy :-)

And about Google, it does want to know everything about everybody, frieghtening. More the reason why you should try 'Cool Iris' instead of Google reader. I have only recently discovered reader but then noticed that you can not delete posts from it cache once posted. The deleted posts stay visible for 4 months.

I have now discovered 'cool Iris' which works best with Firefox. Just by pointing your mouse to any link, it opens a preview window. I am using this now to write this comment. No need to log onto a google account, nothing. Just use it from your own site.

.. and Witch doc, madness is not exclusive to some docs, it is infectious as you know. I couldn't post this comment on your blog because I do not have a wordpress account so can't log in to post.

Regards,

Sam

Anonymous said...

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2207

Please excuse my spelling. No reading glasses.

Garth Marenghi said...

having watched the video,

Darzi is just reinventing the wheel,

so the new wheel can be a private one

Anonymous said...

Can't see this working at all. It would need massive resources throwing at it. The whole notion of being attended to right away requires lots of spare capacity. The reality will be "sorry we can't book you into that clinic until around the end of next month. No we can't give you an appointment now. You'll be contacted." (Don't hold your breath; don't phone us; no, Mr so and so doesn't have a secretary as such; we can't do anything about it; we can't help you; goodbye).

Kenali dan Kunjungi Objek Wisata di Pandeglang said...

Kenali dan Kunjungi Objek Wisata di Pandeglang
Keyword Kenali Pandeglang
Mohon dukungannya yach....?!
Semangat..semangat..!!
Pandeglang telah hilang Kenali Si Dunia Aneh
Mari bersama Pak Firman yang bekerja di SDIT Nurul Ilmi Medan dalam kontes Kenali dan Kunjungi Objek Wisata di Pandeglang