Why self care matters
An article by Sharon Alcock, independent broadcaster
Quite simply, whilst we would all love to think that the NHS can look after us well, at the time we need it, for as long as we would like, I know from my work that, sadly, we can’t expect this level of care at all times. I believe our communities and the NHS will be healthier in the future only if people take more responsibility for their own health and care needs at an earlier stage.
There are many people in the UK and within the health service who cling on to ideals. To strive for the very best for patients is laudable. But being unrealistic helps no-one and to believe there will be enough resources for health professionals to continue administering the same amount of top-down care they do now appears unrealistic from my perspective. What’s more I’d rather make decisions about my own healthcare needs in the context of 365 days a year than ask someone else to take a decision about them after one or two short meetings!?
Let me put my comments in context: I have been a journalist for nearly twenty years now, the last ten of them concentrating solely on health issues. During that time, I have also had two children and my father has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. I believe that we all have different capacities to achieve looking after ourselves and our own, but I also believe we have a community responsibility to try.
I am lucky that I have information and knowledge at my fingertips when caring for those around me. I realise that that information and knowledge gives me the confidence to know what to do when my child has a temperature, when I decide what to feed them or when my father has a bad day. But we all need guidance and support. Other individuals may need more of that support than me. Some people develop the confidence they need to care for their own health when they understand what is happening and why. And when my family’s health needs reach beyond my own capacity, I want to know when to call for help and to speak to a knowledgeable person in good time. And I want my role in that whole process recognised as a valuable one.
I have no particular political bent. I am an independent observer and reporter. Above all in this I am a user of healthcare services and I intend to avoid being a patient wherever possible, for as long as possible! For myself and others to achieve that, delegates at this conference will need to decide how to commission support which allows me to stay informed about my health and that of my family, to access the right resources when I need them and to recognise in good time when my needs are more acute. Should budgets be spent on this? Seems to me the health service will save money in the longer term if they are.