Anyone handling multiple doses of multiple drugs is thankful for Webster-pak. It simplifies and reduces errors. So this poem is not directed at that brand but at the philosophy of preserving 'life at all costs'.
But having said that, it is worth noting the following quote from the Webster-pak website: "With the introduction of the Webster-pak, many pharmacies have achieved growth. One New South Wales pharmacy went from a couple to 40 Webster-pak patients in no time at all."Webster Pack.
Efficient drug dispenser.
Every measured dose,
fail-safe organised.
No hope of fatal error.
We are so clever,
post graduate researchers.
Personal relevance measured
by product on a shelf.
Medical economy,
what are you selling?
Efficient, no side effect,
gold plated immortality?
So, are you in profit, Webster Pack?
Your compensation for holding
so many flickering, painful lives,
teetering expensively on the edge of death.
Stafford Ray, July 2007.
That is so true! Doctors in my country won't treat you, unless you give them a little extra... even the nurses ask you for cash. To top it all up: They still have the nerve to complain about their salaries!
ReplyDeleteThere was this case when after the doctor took all the money from the patient's family he told them that he won't live more than six moths...
I withdrew all my mom's meds about 3 months before she died ... I think she actually did better WITHOUT them. And then, to top it off ... she was being treated for Parkinson's as well as Alzheimer's and didn't even have Parkinson's ~ as the autopsy clearly showed.
ReplyDeleteI resisted meds for a long time and finally gave in to a statin a few weeks ago. My 305 cholesterol reading doesn't bode well for living a long life.
Thanks for the book recommendation ... I will look for it ..
this was scary
ReplyDeletestafford, you so eloquently pose a question that holds so much validity and weight! someone is pocketing more than anyone ever needs and it is such a disgrace.
ReplyDeleteand to answer your blog comments left for me, no-hubby doesn't read my blog-doesn't care to. and yes, there have always been problems with co-dependency but such is life when you live with a dry drunk. seeing your face in my comment box always brings a huge smile to my face, thanks for your concerns :)
Hear, hear - great poem Stafford.
ReplyDeleteHello, I was surprised to see you live near to me. My daughter lives at Buderim. I used to nurse all over Nambour Hospital, often in Emergency. The whole of our medical system is going to pack especially in Qld. My vote goes to the Christian democrates, hopefully it will bring a swing to better things. After living in and working for, the USA health system, we do have it much better here. Have a great day.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Facebook, my grandson's favorite swear word is Dickhead ... you are in good company!!! Or he is .........
ReplyDeleteWhat more can I say here but that you truly make us think with your eloquent and thought provoking poem! Hope you have a great Thursday! :-)
ReplyDeleteTis an * ill pill *
ReplyDeleteThat bends the * Will *
Till take a pill
I will !
If no pill
I Lose the * Will *
Then *ill *
No pill
I Be
Keeping people alive at all costs is one question but the effectiveness of the health system is another one entirely.
ReplyDeleteCrystal Mary, IXL was rushed to Nambour Hospital three times last year with AF and there was nothing I or she could fault with the attnetion she received starting with the paramedics until she was able to leave with a referral to a specialist. No events this year yet :-)
All treatment in the public systen was free.
Having never had to recieve medical attention in the US I have no first hadn knowledge. However, listening to ABC National on Saturday, Dr Karl (scientist, author and commentator) commented on a question asked by a recently returned tourist who asked why Amercians seem to have a lot ofg people with eyss that are turned where we see so few here. His answer?
'Here, as soon as the problem is noticed, usually by a Post Natal Clinic Nurse, the child's eyes are corrected surgically at no cost to the parent. He said that in the US, surgery is done at a cost of about $25,000 US, so many parents cannot afford it'. Seems a bit silly having so many people hadnicapped when here I estimate the cost to the government healt scheme to be maybe two thousand?
American friends please comment.
ZUZU, I dont want to ever get sick there!
Suz, it is scary, and I note Helen's comment that she took her mother off medications then found some weren't necessary.
Sheri, I have a dry drunk in the family and although he earns my respect for his strength staying dry, he is easy to upset and seems constantly angry for no apparent reason. That condition, I suspect, predates his drinking!!
Helen, if you go back to read all the Wollombi posts you will learn a dialect that is now rarely used and will be forgotten as the 'old codgers' die out.
Carrie, lovely to read your comments and will visit now I am back home and on line.
Zany, thanks for your zanies. In your lines 'no pill I be, do you man 'pill' as meanig 'idiot'?
Or is there a darker thought there?
Darker Thought ? .. Idiot ? ..
ReplyDeleteNEVER !
I'm sure you know me better than that..
** In Sickness and in Health **
I Will Always Be There .. Because I Care
So Very Much ..
Written As A * Little Light Relief * as I sensed the * Pain Behind Your Story *
Hey very interesting blog!
ReplyDeleteAlso visit my webpage: diets that work fast for women