The News-Miner reports that there is a new law that takes effect immediately. Prior to this law, doctors who ordered surgery for a patient that needed anesthesia had to wait 48 hours before giving the okay. This meant that some operations could not take place at all and that some procedures were held up. It also meant that the patient would have to make another trip to the doctor before the surgery could be performed.
Now, news stories are saying that the ban will take effect in 4 aug. Allowing patients to go into surgery while under anesthesia has always been illegal since the Nurses’ Health Organization opposed it in July. However, the new law means that the hospital must allow non-naplaning privileges to patients who are under anesthesia. This means that any use of anesthesia will have to be documented and the doctor will have to ensure that the documentation is kept in an office safe.
It has been speculated that the reason this has been put into motion is to combat the so-called “surgery gap”. As the News Mahar notes, if clinics to close their doors because they cannot accommodate their patient’s complex health care needs, then this means that patients who need certain types of surgery cannot get them because they cannot get anesthesia fast enough. This is especially important in juliatrys where travel distances mean additional time away from home, which means fewer routine errands for family and friends, less money in insurance premiums and missed work days. The new measure, which takes effect in 4 aug. marks the beginning of a concerted effort by the hospital system to ensure that all patients have access to necessary services.
Other news stories note that this move by the News Mahar is part of a wider effort to make the medical system more accessible to different cultures. In a separate story, the writer notes that the same day this measure was put into place, a woman from Pakistan tried to undergo an invasive breast cancer treatment, but was told that she would have to travel to the United Kingdom or another country for the procedure. Similarly, in another report, the writer notes that last month a man from Pakistan tried to have an operation to correct what he called “osteoporosis” but was told that the operation would mean travelling abroad. These and other similar stories show that while the public perception may be shifting towards providing more assistance to different cultures, there are still tensions between those who see healthcare as a universal right and those who see it as something reserved for the elite.
There is some irony in the way the News Mahar treated the man who bit the woman on the forearm. At the start of the article he tells us that the man had come to the United Kingdom only six weeks earlier. In the next sentence, however, the writer implies that the man did not really need any kind of medical attention: “The Fats and Band-Aids may help,” the article says. While there is some truth in what the writer writes, the implied meaning of the phrase – “the Fats and Band-Aids may help” – is way off base. The reality is that there are very few medical treatments for things like lymphedema and tendonitis, both of which can cause painful sores in different parts of the body. Indeed, these medical treatments simply provide temporary relief and are unlikely to prevent a recurrence of the problem.
When it comes to public safety, News-Majors seems to understand that its readers do not always share the world’s same safety sensibilities. On several occasions, the website stresses that it is against the law to photograph an unconscious patient in a hospital bed. But when a nurse’s aide films the brutal manner in which a patient was abused in a Canadian hospital, the news story ends up suggesting that the nurse should be arrested for failing to report the incident. And in yet another case, a story ends with the reporter asking, “How will this affect my clients? Will they think twice about using a company for their next tubal reversal?”