A while ago the forces of darkness decided that progress might be made towards their nefarious objectives (doubtless including, on this occasion, the criminalisation of illness, and the medicalisation of crime) by taking everyone’s medical records and uploading them into a huge computer called ‘The Spine’ (presumably it has peripherals called ‘The Ribs’).
There was a campaign against this (for obvious reasons) and I wrote to my GP using the form of words suggested by the said campaign. It wasn’t the first such letter she’d received.
A couple of days ago I received a letter myself, rubber-stamped by the chief executive of the county NHS trust, no less, and resembling nothing more or less than one of those ‘offer you can’t refuse’ things credit-card companies send one from time to time, attempting to measure one’s money-to-sense ratio.
“…pleased to inform you… now able to offer… better and safer care…” etc. etc. The justification offered for the so-called ’summary care record’ is to assist A&E and out-of-hours services, i.e. those which one expects to call upon in an emergency.
The next paragraph:
“…you will be asked if healthcare staff can look at your Summary Care Record… unless it is an emergency.”
My own pet wordweasel is not impressed with this and says that they should have left it for another paragraph at least.
So what is the real purpose of replacing the time-honoured, internationally recognised and apparently reliable MedicAlert system with yet another NHS IT project?
Other than jobs for the boys, sales leads for the pharmaceutical profiteers and potentially vital face-saving information for police ‘kettling’ demonstrators who claim to have dangerous medical conditions?
I have written to my doctor to forbid this sinister manoeuvre, and to explain that my persistent refusal to countenance the uploading of my medical records into any government computer system is to do with the apparent inability of the administration to specify and commission an IT system which actually works, mentioning that the reason why I have not used the ‘opt-out form’ mentioned in the letter is that having downloaded it from the specified URL my computer announced at once that it was ‘corrupt, or of a type which cannot be recognised’.
Q, as it were, ED.
The other thing is that sooner or later (and, more than one of!) the NHS ‘trust’ (like Hell!) administrative types WILL get plaster-ass drunk, and they WILL then proceed to leave your gen laying around in the train, in a lap-top or briefcase or what-the-eff-ever…whereupon, the obscene bombardment of Viagra ’spam’ in your PC shall no doubt at least be trebled! Whereas that is only the start of the trouble….
These people’s conception of mathematics is completely –ed-up-by-the-numbers more than somewhat, if they think (sic) for even an instant that by increasing the data field they are somehow going to minimise mis-chance and error.
Actually, such conceptions descend upon the nadir of sublimity with flashing gaudy bathospheric lamps in some back-handed unintended fashion one absolutely CAN not find words to describe!
Bathospheric lamps?
I’ve been doing lighting since I was knee-high to a Strand Electric mechanical dimmer, but I’ve never heard of those.
Neither, it seems, has Wikipedia.
Never mind.
“I don’t know what it is, but I want it!”
[Terry Gilliam: 'Jabberwocky']
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