Quote:
Originally Posted by JeannieBug
One can't help but wonder if the government sees them as defectives and is trying to kill them off, or something...
I mean, telling someone who is walking around with a glucose of 547 that they don't have to worry, is murder, if you ask me.
Let me guess, doctors can't be sued for malpractice over there..?
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From what I read the doctor did treat her, she raised the medication until the BG was under control again. The woman was freaking out because her BG had increased on her home testing and she had been told by her doc NOT to home test. From what I could see she hadn't returned to doctor with the issue at that point. However she appears to have been hospitalised with a separate issue and is now getting care from a specialist consultant, who is advising insulin, and not diet changes, but at least her BG will be controlled. She is on steroids and should have been more closely monitored by her GP - were it me, I would have put in a complaint, but sadly as an older person, she is unlikely to. It is traditionally not part of British culture to complain much, so bad doctors get away with being substandard for a long time - if not the whole of their career. GPs also do not have much in the way of continuing education or evaluation, so skills and knowledge are not updated unless the doctor themselves put the effort in, or the NHS mandates a new policy on an issue.
The GP was definitely wrong in discouraging home testing - I suspect it may have been in order to discourage many repeat visits to the GP that might not be necessary. Because we make no payments for GP visits, they tend to be overwhelmed by those who attend with the slightest thing. The GPs behaviour is still not right, though. Though doctors can be struck off for malpractice, it is not so common as doctors are overly revered and all cover for each other.
We don't have restriction of free speech particularly in the UK, but with one large nationwide health body - the NHS, it is expected that doctors and nurses promote the 'company line', much like your U.S. organisations that register dieticians. As such, not many health professionals will give conflicting advice, but some do.
With websites, it is down to the moderators what is allowed and what isn't. A moderator wedded to the current dogma on diabetes treatment may see low carb advice as 'dangerous' and delete posts for that reason - they would be wrong. It says little about free speech in the UK, and a lot about the moderation policy on that particular website.