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When I had breast cancer, I met the surgeon who performed my mastectomy and made sure he knew how much I appreciated his efforts.
But I recently realized that I have no idea who correctly analyzed the CT scan that revealed the size and type of my cancer.
I doubt many of us know much about the process of getting a life-saving diagnosis. We know about surgeons and chest specialists, all those on the front line, who see us face to face, but we don’t consider the highly qualified doctors we’ll probably never meet, but on whose skill our lives depend.
They are called radiologists and they are in my thoughts now, as the waiting list for crucial diagnostic tests hits a record 1,658,221 in England – double what it was ten years ago.
Radiologists are in my thoughts now as the waiting list for crucial diagnostic tests hits a record 1,658,221 in England, writes Jenni Murray
None of us have needed to be told by the new Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, that the NHS is bankrupt. We know how difficult it is to get past the first step of seeking treatment for something that worries us.
Visits to the GP are like gold dust and that is the only starting point. The GP may decide, at some point, to send us to a specialist who will order tests, and then another nightmare comes.
Because the Royal College of Radiologists warns of a “shocking shortage” of clinical experts. Radiologists should not be confused with radiologists. It is the radiologist who is there when you finally get to the diagnostic department, operating the expensive machinery.
This is where the radiologist comes in, examining the complex images produced by the scan to determine what is happening in the body. If the problem is cancer, the diagnosis is presented to the oncologist and only then can treatment begin.
Kylie is very lucky that the heat wave has stayed at bay.
No one but Kylie could get away with dancing dressed head to toe in bright red latex, pictured here, for her concert in London’s Hyde Park this week.
It’s okay like that We didn’t have a heat wave. It might have been a bit uncomfortable…
In some ways, it is the most important function of the NHS. Any delay or mistake could be a death sentence.
Labour has promised in its manifesto to double the number of scans, but doctors warn there is also an urgent need for more staff. Katharine Halliday, president of the Royal College of Radiologists, said: “Retention problems and low staff morale exacerbate these shortages, leading to longer waits for diagnoses and delays in cancer treatments. Every month of delay in starting treatment can increase the risk of death by 10 per cent.”
I have a close friend who is a consultant radiologist in the NHS and works harder than anyone else I know. When I spoke to her over the weekend, knowing that she was on call, which meant working long hours from home in the bedroom she has assigned as her office, I asked her if she enjoyed her job. She sighed deeply and I realised it was a silly question.
She loves her job and helping patients, but she works long hours and when she’s not in the hospital training the next generation of radiologists, she’s at home, alone in her office, reading endless scans. It’s a lonely way to work.
His response to my question was a long and rather desperate tirade: “Workers need to know that scanners are useless without people to use them, and scanners are useless without people to read them. To really fix this problem, we need a huge investment over ten to fifteen years to enable us to somehow train new radiologists while still providing the service at full capacity.”
He explained that senior radiologists work all day trying to train new professionals. Then they work late into the evening and on weekends, interpreting images to help patients through this time.
It means agonizingly long hours of work with inadequate reward or even gratitude.
She says: “We can’t double the numbers immediately because they give us a lot of money now. If they want the current staff to stay and do their jobs, they will have to reward them somehow. They can’t keep asking for more.”
Radiology is a profession that is practiced remotely. It is a curious job, as there is no real contact with the person whose life you might be saving. I can understand why, for some newly qualified doctors, it may not be an attractive option.
You may have seen yourself on the sexier side of medicine, being the person carrying out the treatment, giving good news about its success and consequently being perceived as some sort of god who receives a bottle of the finest Scotch whisky for their efforts.
So, to all those radiologists who work unseen and save us so much anxiety, thank you.
And to Wes Streeting, don’t forget that diagnosis is not just about machines, it’s about people. Take care of them, for the sake of us all.
I expected more from you, Mr. Bond.
Daniel Craig, what were you thinking when you dressed up as a teenager to model for the fashion house Loewe?
No, Daniel. Shave, get a haircut, put on a smart suit and tie and a decent pair of shoes. There are too few handsome, well-dressed men these days to give pleasure to those of us who crave it.
Don’t you dare disappoint us again, Mr. Bond.
Every child should be a Scout
I am delighted that Scouting is once again becoming popular among children, with record numbers of enrolments.
Children need to spend time with their friends and learn to get along.
I was a Girl Guide throughout my teenage years. I started out in the Primrose Patrol and rose to become its leader. It gave me social skills that I have relied on all my life. My children have never been more impressed than when I took them camping, pitched the tent in seconds, lit the fire with a single match and had the sausages sizzling in no time. Practical, decent and fun – that’s Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, and it costs virtually nothing.
Is it possible that Sir Keir is really “outsourcing” his deputy First Minister, Angela Rayner, so soon after coming to power? Some friends say she is being unfairly stripped of her responsibilities. There have also been rude comments about her fashion choices. I think it’s great that she dresses the way she likes. Come on Sir Keir, don’t be jealous of one of the few working-class female colleagues you have.
It’s good that theft of items worth less than £200 is becoming a crime worth investigating. But how will the offenders be punished? Prisons are overcrowded, Therefore, unpaid participation in customer complaints could be the solution.