My wife, who is 35-years-old, has just received yet another
letter from her GP inviting her to attend for a cervical smear. The invitations
and reminders seem to come through as often as letters from companies offering
us double glazing and car insurance.
There is some dispute about the
value of cervical smears.
But let's put that aside for the
moment.
I am 61-years-old, and for men in my age group the simplest and
most cost productive health check is a blood pressure check. It takes no more
than two minutes and costs nothing.
And yet I have never, ever received
an invitation to have my blood pressure checked.
Why, I wonder, could
this be?
Could it possibly be because the Government pays GPs a bonus if
they perform cervical smears but no one gives a stuff about the over 60s?
(Particularly if they happen to be male.)
As it happens I don't much care
for myself.
I still have my sphygmomanometer and so every so often I
check my own blood pressure.
(Fine at the moment. Thanks for
asking.)
But what about the millions of men who aren't doctors and don't
have a sphygmomanometer sitting in the spare bedroom?
Modern medicine has
nothing to do with health care and everything to do with money and
power.
Vast amounts of money are spent (? wasted) performing cervical
smears because there's a huge and powerful feminist lobby demanding that women
be looked after in this way (regardless of the value of the test).
But
there is no one campaigning for the health rights of older
men.
Copyright Vernon Coleman October 4th 2007
Dr
Vernon Coleman is the author of over 100 books including the international
bestseller How To Stop Your Doctor Killing You which is available from
the shop on this website.
