UK: Collapse of NHS leads to suicide

hhttp://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article2422646.ece


'Collapse of NHS system pushed dentist to take her own life'
By Ian Herbert
Published: 05 April 2007

Ingrid Gill's resignation from a dental practice in North Yorkshire
two years ago seemed to be yet one more illustration of a collapsing
NHS dental system. "Outdated and failing patients" read the Yorkshire
Post headline over a story detailing her departure and that of a
neighbouring Lithuanian dentist who said the system resembled
something from the Soviet era.

But the dental practice's public assertion that Mrs Gill was simply
suffering "ill health" belied the psychological toll which her immense
workload - dealing single-handedly with 1,500 NHS patients - had taken
on her. An inquest has heard that Mrs Gill never recovered from it.
Her husband, Ian, believes the anxiety she developed at the Birdgate
dental practice, near Pickering, led her to commit suicide by taking
an overdose of anti-depressants and whisky in January this year. She
was 46.

North Yorkshire's NHS dentistry problems had been well chronicled when
Mrs Gill, also a talented artist and ceramicist, took her job at the
practice in November 2005. With dentists deserting the NHS in droves
(largely because of the failure of salaries to keep pace with
workload), more than 300 people queued to register when a Dutch
dentist arrived to take NHS work in Scarborough in February 2004 -
only to resign weeks later when it became clear that she had a
previous criminal conviction.

But the job opportunity at one of Pickering's two dental practices
still seemed perfect for Swiss-born Mrs Gill. She and her husband Ian,
a dental technician, liked the area and the couple had ambitions to
open an art gallery there. Mrs Gill had worked in NHS dentistry for 20
years but within weeks the new workload began to take its toll. The
former cancer sufferer felt she lacked support from the practice's
other dentists, who had private clients.

Eventually, Mrs Gill was taken to hospital with colitis, an
inflammatory disease of the lower intestine, and one of the owners of
the practice, Sarah Glover, asked her to resign from the NHS list, the
inquest heard. Mrs Gill was told that the practice was considering
converting the NHS patients into private patients and that she could
possibly pick them up again when she recovered. The North Yorkshire
Family Health Service wrote to Mrs Gill's patients, explaining the
situation.

"In my opinion it was a very nice way of getting rid of the NHS list,"
Mr Gill told the inquest. "They said they would consider converting
the NHS list into private so she could return once she recovered, but
that put her in an impossible situation because she was too ill to
make that decision. She was too ill to deal with such a tough call, so
was forced to resign. She felt guilty and let down.

"Her name was even printed on Teletext. People were furious at losing
the only NHS dentist. But Ingrid was ill. She didn't deserve that. We
actually celebrated when she developed colitis, because we were so
scared it was secondary cancer."

Though the couple opened their own dental practice after her departure
from Birdgate, she continued to need treatment for anxiety and often
complained of tiredness. On 2 January this year, she left her husband
a letter indicating that she had gone for a drive, in search of some
peace and quiet. But a short time later her body was found in her
Peugeot 206 car by a park ranger near Crosscliff Brow in Dalby Forest,
near Pickering. A bottle of whisky was found on the floor next to her
and a post-mortem examination revealed she had taken an overdose of
the antidepressant Dothiepin with the alcohol. The coroner, Michael
Oakley, sitting at Pickering magistrates' court, said: "There is no
other conclusion to be drawn than that Mrs Gill intended to take her
own life."

Mr Gill said: "I'm not at all surprised that so many NHS dentists
leave the profession, retire early or go private, because it is such a
stressful job. Ingrid never fully recovered from the stress of being
at that practice. Her downfall was that she was too clever. She looked
so deeply into things."

The switch to private practice

A small number of dentists has been left to deal with huge patient
demand in Britain because many in the profession have abandoned a lot
of their NHS work - in which they are paid a fee for each treatment in
a "piece-work" system, rather than for the number of patients on their
book. Private work is simply more profitable. Most dentists now carry
out both NHS and private consultations.

There is also a shortage of dentists in the UK: around 30,000, but
nearly 2,000 less than is needed, according to the British Dental
Association. According to the BDA, the number of dentists earning most
of their salary from the NHS dropped from 75 per cent in 1993 to 60
per cent in 2003. In the 1980s private dentistry accounted for less
than 10 per cent of dentists' income.

PJ O'Donovan wrote:

hhttp://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article2422646.ece


'Collapse of NHS system pushed dentist to take her own life'
By Ian Herbert
Published: 05 April 2007


Life expectancy in the UK is over 80 years
Life expectancy in the US is only 76 years.


snip subjective propaganda

"PJ O'Donovan" wrote in message
ps.com...
hhttp://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article2422646.ece


'Collapse of NHS system pushed dentist to take her own life'
By Ian Herbert
Published: 05 April 2007


Why should there be any NHS dental service? There is nothing like it in New
Zealand or Australia.

R

Collapse of NHS system pushed dentist to take her own life'

PJ

Life expectancy in the UK is over 80 years
Life expectancy in the US is only 76 years.

BJ Foster

What should we conclude from your figures and what is the source of
your figures?

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medi...p?newsid=20557

"Life expectancy for U.S. residents increased to a record 77.6 years
and mortality rates for most leading causes of death declined in 2003,
according to the preliminary annual mortality report released Monday
by... CDC's National Center for Health Statistics,..."

Besides the life expectancy gap within individual groups in the US
exceeds your broad bush overall UK/US life expectancy gap which leads
to bigger questions like relative differences in comparative life
styles including bad habits like. illegal drug activities,
overeating, obesity etc. etc etc.

Why is the largest gap between men and women everywhere? Perhaps that
is innate? Yea, sure. l

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medi...p?newsid=20557

Race, Sex Results

"However, the gap between male and female life expectancies decreased
from 2002, when females lived an average of 5.4 years longer than men.
The Washington Times reports that 2003 was the first time the average
life expectancy of all U.S. women, regardless of race, exceeded 80
years (Washington Times, 3/1). In addition, the report found that
death rates per 100,000 white men declined by 2.1% in 2003 and by 1.2%
for white women, compared with a 2.5% decrease for African-American
men and a 2.4% decrease among African-American women. Among Latinos,
mortality rates for men decreased by 4.2% and by 1.8% for women (AP/
Las Vegas Sun, 2/28). Overall, the report found that average life
expectancy for white residents was 78 years in 2003 and about 73 years
for African-American residents. African-American males continue to
have the shortest life expectancy at less than 70 years in 2003,
according to the report..."

On Apr 5, 2:23 pm, "Roger Dewhurst" wrote:
"PJ O'Donovan" wrote in message

ps.com...

hhttp://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article2422646.ece

'Collapse of NHS system pushed dentist to take her own life'
By Ian Herbert
Published: 05 April 2007

Why should there be any NHS dental service? There is nothing like it in New
Zealand or Australia.

R

Collapse of NHS system pushed dentist to take her own life...

PJ

Why should there be any NHS dental service? There is nothing like it
in New
Zealand or Australia.

Roger Dewhurst

There shouldn't be and don't push for it.

One sees many more mouths with ugly, rotten teeth in the UK than
NZ or AU by a long shot thanx to that NHS "free" dental care in the
UK.

"Roger Dewhurst" wrote in message
...

"PJ O'Donovan" wrote in message
ps.com...
hhttp://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article2422646.ece


'Collapse of NHS system pushed dentist to take her own life'
By Ian Herbert
Published: 05 April 2007


Why should there be any NHS dental service? There is nothing like it in
New
Zealand or Australia.


We used to have a great one in Aus till Howard stopped the funding now
dental health in Australia has decreased

Make credence recognised that on Fri, 6 Apr 2007 09:23:03 +1200,
"Roger Dewhurst" has scripted:


"PJ O'Donovan" wrote in message
ups.com...
hhttp://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article2422646.ece


'Collapse of NHS system pushed dentist to take her own life'
By Ian Herbert
Published: 05 April 2007


Why should there be any NHS dental service? There is nothing like it in New
Zealand or Australia.

NZ and Oz are currently running headlong towards the US system,
despite it being quite clear it's a lousy direction to go.

Britain would do well not to go down the same path, and the
antipodeans would do well to wake up to what's going on.
--
---
DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com
---
--

dechucka wrote:
"Roger Dewhurst" wrote in message
...
"PJ O'Donovan" wrote in message
ps.com...
hhttp://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article2422646.ece


'Collapse of NHS system pushed dentist to take her own life'
By Ian Herbert
Published: 05 April 2007

Why should there be any NHS dental service? There is nothing like it in
New
Zealand or Australia.


We used to have a great one in Aus till Howard stopped the funding now
dental health in Australia has decreased


A friend recently was in Australia and needed emergency dental
treatment, which involved, amongst other thing, a wisdom tooth
extraction. Cost him (or his insurance policy), around £1000.

B J Foster wrote:
PJ O'Donovan wrote:

hhttp://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article2422646.ece


'Collapse of NHS system pushed dentist to take her own life'
By Ian Herbert
Published: 05 April 2007


Life expectancy in the UK is over 80 years

Except in Scotland. (All those deep-fried Mars Bars!)