Over-Medicalization of Normal Life: Consequences for Healthcare Systems like the NHS
The over-medicalization of normal life has had profound consequences, particularly in relation to the strain it places on healthcare systems like the NHS. In recent years, there has been a growing tendency to medicalize common experiences and conditions that were once considered part of the normal spectrum of human variation. This trend has led to an increased reliance on medical interventions, overburdening healthcare systems and jeopardizing their sustainability.
Even though she may overstate her case, Katie Musgrave has a helpful article in Pulse about the state of NHS mental health services.
I’ve used the same title as her article for this post, although changing one word: ‘medicalisation’ to ‘over-medicalisation’.
“The system isn’t functioning”, said by “Katie Musgrave”.
I think it’s reasonable for a GP, for example, to be discussing a child’s “tantrums and mood-swings” with parents. GPs need to deal with mental health as well as physical problems.
But I agree with Musgrave that hoping “an hour on the phone having CBT might solve issues from a difficult childhood, a broken marriage or long-standing financial stresses” oversimplifies people’s problems. Addressing “our broken, disconnected communities” is not easy. The NHS has not got “the answer to all of life’s ills”.
I also agree that NHS leaders may not have “the courage to fix this”. In fact I think NHS England has encouraged this oversimplification, based on a misguided understanding of the need for early intervention to prevent problems getting worse .
The State of NHS Mental Health Services: Over-Medicalization and the Need for Solutions
In a war zone, which the NHS is rapidly emulating, we should not be discussing tantrums or mood swings. I know I will offend some by writing this. Still, if they were my mood swings, or my child’s tantrums, I would forgive the offence – if I knew my mother or father had fallen, broken a hip, and were lying on a bathroom floor for 10 hours.
The time for niceties has passed. There are no magic resources in the NHS. Every minute spent discussing a moody teenager is a minute less spent seeing a palliative patient. I know some of the teenagers with mood swings or ladies with night sweats will be emergencies, but most are not. And we usually have a reasonable inkling who could wait or be signposted elsewhere. Perhaps the non-essential aspects of our work need to have fees attached.
Offered by our Wellcare World friend at
Trending Also -> Physiotherapy Terahertz Technology TeraMD
Wellcare World specializes in providing the latest advancements in wellness technology, supplementation, and lifestyle changes that improve health and increase the quality of people's lives. To learn more, visit WellcareWorld.com and begin living a better life today.
Share Us With Others
