150 Referrals! YAY!... Miserable GP... Boo!

I've reached another milestone in my service. 150 referrals :-)

Sadly, in a meeting the other day about whether the service will be continued past its 7 month extension and made permanent, I was told that a GP (the same one who left a note asking why they'd employed a hypnotherapist and not a district nurse) who is in a senior position in one of the new commissioning consortia (and who's never referred a single patient or spent a single second with me or any patients who have experienced my service- with good or bad outcomes-) is making it his mission to ensure the service is not continued (i.e. 'we stop wasting money on this rubbish').

With a 93% success rate for patients having improved symptoms, I think the service figures speak for themselves. What other NHS service gets that?

And yet, the 10 to 20% of the population who suffer from IBS, and for whom there is no alternative NHS service, will lose the only community NHS service in the whole of the UK if this guy gets his way. Sometimes, words fail even me

:-(

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Comment by Henxy on May 23, 2011 at 12:03pm: Hi Dennis,

Thanks for the positive spin ;-) I am lucky that I have the choice of several career options available to me, but my patients don't have that grace. They have me, or nothing. A scarce few could afford to pay privately; some for a session or two, others for as much as it takes. Most of them have already suffered enough for several life times. There is no treatment for them on the NHS if/when the meds fail. They pay taxes. They're entitled to care for their condition, just as others benefit from the NHS with theirs.

Comment by Dennis Atkinson on May 23, 2011 at 11:54am: I feel like I'm over a barrel. I'm close to giving up :-( I fear it's all too stacked against my patients, and therefore it's too stacked against me.

"Stacked against my patients" sounds like the condition of our current medical systems in this country ...

As hard as it may seem to find at times, there is always a positive that comes from what occurs in life. Perhaps it is time for you to grow in a different direction? Just food for thought.

Comment by Henxy on May 23, 2011 at 11:43am: Now I feel like I'm in that scene from 'Life of Brian'... Dancing about, saying 'Jehovah! Jehovah!' and wondering how it can get any worse!

Supposedly neutral people are insisting that the service is available to all (excellent, I'd like that); but are focusing on the fact that I only speak English, and that ethnic minorities would need to be catered for. They are arguing that the service costs are then significantly higher than we're asserting, and pretty much, making it untenable. Of the 150 people referred, only one didn't speak English, and that person also refused a translator. But that is irrelevant, apparently...

I feel like I'm over a barrel. I'm close to giving up :-( I fear it's all too stacked against my patients, and therefore it's too stacked against me.

Thanks for your support guys. xx

Comment by Dennis Atkinson on May 23, 2011 at 10:14am: Henxy: (love your name by the way)

Michael Ellner makes a good point about pointing out the success numbers. It is very sad that as far as medicine has expanded over the past decade ... examples: the accepting of chiropractic medicine, the accepting of accupuncture, the acceptance of bio-feedback, even the acceptance of psychotherapy and marriage counseling as being beneficial to the patient ... there remains some within the medical profession who still operate with a closed mind.

My belief is that it is the "body" who does the healing. The doctor is a highly trained and skilled tool who assists the body in doing what the body is designed to do naturally. It has been my experience that since doctors are scientists, many refuse to look at anything where results cannot be expressed in scientific terms ... i.e. pathology, blood test results, surgery, use of medications, etc. ... as I am sure you already are aware of, fibromyalgia as well as IBS often times go undiagnosed for quite some time because doctors cannot "show it" in some type of lab test.

You should be applauded for what you have accomplished ... and you should feel proud for a job well done! Your patients know what is true ... I would focus on the positive, and leave the narrow mindedness to Dr. GP

Comment by Michael Ellner on May 20, 2011 at 6:57am: Congrats on your 150 referrals-

I suggest considering a position paper that suggests that it is nothing short of medical malpractice to ignore the benefits that have been demonstrated by your program and point out that some doctors have not even referred one patient to the program without mentioning the jerk by name--

As we say in Spanish Harlem - Don't let the turkeys drag you down!

Michael E. @ http://www.nycanxietyhypnosis.com

Comment by Gloria Constantas on May 20, 2011 at 5:19am: Can you ask all of the clients you have worked with to send a letter or email to the naysayer saying how wonderful it has been since they did hypnosis? With an avalanche of letters, he might actually read some of them, or might just shut his mouth for a little while. Long enough for the position to go permanent, maybe. Ask every client for a testimonial. Hang them up in your office, or somewhere he can see them. get permission form the client and send out press relases about the benefits of hypnosis...

Comment by Kelley Woods on May 19, 2011 at 4:05pm: That's just sad and irritating to hear, Henxy. I understand that when ego takes over, common sense often vacates. I hope other informed and influential people keep pulling for you. They have a real star in their midst.

Comment by James Malone on May 19, 2011 at 1:55pm: Its a shame that this arrogant physician has a problem with a true example of "evidence based" treatment. Hope it works OK because the real victims will be the patients who would be denied a viable and safe therapy.

Comment by Bill Kennedy on May 19, 2011 at 12:39pm: Keep on doing EXACTLY what you're doing! Even the curmudgeons will have to grudgingly admit you're doing an excellent job!

Comment by Henxy on May 19, 2011 at 8:49am: Hi James,

It's not as simple as this grumpy man saying no and everyone else joining him, but he is pretty influential; and calling what the service achieves 'rubbish' without any prior knowledge of the subject takes some arrogance...

In the same group is a wonderfully supportive GP who also does hypno, and several referring GPs, all who are happy with the results. Unfortunately, the head of this group is someone who said (when the service had been paid for by a one-off pot of innovations funding) 'where's the incentive for me to do what's best for my patients?' (i.e. he'd only refer if he got a financial incentive).

Hopefully, the figures speak for themselves, and the support the service gets from referrers and from patients will allow it to become permanent. I'm doing my best :-) Thanks x