Winter’s epidemic floods hospital A & E with overworked doctors that may lead to fall in standard. Recently elderly family member having bad attack of flu visited “Walk-in” Centre. He was prescribed pain killers which one could buy over the counter, in spite of having bad upper respiratory tract infection, clearly in need of antibiotics. After weeks of misery, the infection spread to chest and was prescribed Amoxicillin which did not work, ultimately having to take much stronger combination of antibiotics with severe side-effects.
There was time when antibiotics were prescribed indiscriminately, thus reducing its effectiveness. Perhaps pendulum has swing too far to non-prescribing, to the detriment of elderly.
So often patients’ concerns are dismissed without merit, send home with ineffective painkillers. Young people are even more affected as they are presumed to have strong immune system capable of fighting infection without drugs, forgetting that each patient is individual with special need.
Kumudini Valambia
By email
