Health Systems in crisis

I've blogged before about concerns on the robustness of public health systems and a friend recently brought an interesting article on the state of the NHS system in Britain to my attention. This news article was triggered by a lady receiving breast cancer treatment under the "free" public health system but prepared to sell her house to buy a drug that wasn't available on the free program. It brought to light hundreds of other people facing similar trauma under a health system which isn't working any more.

Our focus and attention on disease and health management need to change.
I normally try to keep my posts fairly light and helpful, but feel very passionately about some of these issues so this post is a little stronger than usual. In recent discussion with a Health Professional, I related my views this way:
If you look at a traditional business risk management model, you identify a likely risk then you put controls in place to manage the risk. Controls can either be identified to manage the incidence of risk occuring, or to manage the likely outcome after the fact, depending on the level of risk identified.
If you look at current workplace wellness, for example, we have post-incident controls such as Workcover and income protection insurance. These controls exist to protect people financially in the event of a serious accident or health incident. Pre-incident controls exist in the form of Occupational Health and Safety, but as yet this legislation and practice does not encompass fundamental risk management of a person's toxic exposure from every day products in their home which can lead to a range of serious illnesses.
Senator Edward Kennedy in the US is a great spokesperson and advocate for this issue, stating that the personal care industry is "too often hazardous and under regulated" US Congress. [ref: 202-224-2633] Sept 5, 1997).
In the 1920's - 1940's, cancer risk was 1 in 80. In the early 2000's, cancer risk is now 1 in 3. This is a massive increase in risk factor and every person should have their personal risk management plan in place. I was shocked when I first came across these figures. Cancer risk in men is now closer to 1 in 2 and still increasing. I suddenly thought of my brother, my dad, my husband, my son, my nephew, my cousin, my cousin-in-law. All of these people are precious to me. How many other men do I love and respect through my work, my church, my social network. So many! Cancer risk is 1 in 2 for every man I know. 1 in 3 for every woman I know. Including myself! Close your eyes and for a moment picture your sisters, mothers, wives, daughters, fathers, husbands, sons, brothers and what these statistics really mean to your life.

Yet our health systems are still designed to provide the risk management controls AFTER the fact. To try and fix things AFTER they go wrong. Ocassionally the cancer statistics cluster. In Australia we have had the ABC cancer cluster, another recent one at RMIT in Melbourne. In my own University, the 3 managers in the direct line of management above me were all diagnosed within 12 months of each other: Leukemia, mouth cancer, multiple myloma.

Do you think its time to consider some prevention? I do. I don't want to depend on a Health System that wasn't designed to manage chronic illness. I believe my generation and those coming after me want a say in their health and their wellness and are switched on to the statistics and the issues. We face a legacy from outdated legislation from the 1930's which has brought about this situation. We face a legacy from the baby boomer generation which was more focused on wealth than health or consequences for our generation.

The Health Highway is a vehicle for prevention. Its a vehicle for a well workforce, healthy happy homes, safer communities. Its a vehicle for the next generation, in the hope that we can reverse these statistics and give life to our children.