NHS or Private?

[Sput]

Maybe he's a consultant now - back to Mr.

[tillyoshea]

In terms of getting infections, I'd say that there are good and bad hospitals in the private sector, just as in the NHS. If I was in your situation, I'd go with the NHS, and like Aston, most of the doctors I know would say the same.

Of course, the best person to ask here would be the renowned surgeon Mr Joe Harvard, but I haven't seen him around lately...

Shouldn't that be Dr. Joe Harvard. Shame on you * shakes head*

Surgeons traditionally use 'Mr', as surgery used to be a different profession to medicine (not to mention the fact that many egotistical surgeons don't want to be associated with 'namby-pamby' doctors).

Normal doctors (ie physicians rather than surgeons) traditionally use 'Dr' throughout their career, even when they're consultants.

And now some dentists have got in on the act, calling themselves 'Dr' even though they're nothing of the kind, and are leaving themselves wide open to litigation by doing so.

[Lorns]

That's right, shoot me down in flames.

[tillyoshea]

That's right, shoot me down in flames.

Awwww... I'm sorry!

[Stuart*]

Surgeons traditionally use 'Mr', as surgery used to be a different profession to medicine (not to mention the fact that many egotistical surgeons don't want to be associated with 'namby-pamby' doctors).
Normal doctors (ie physicians rather than surgeons) traditionally use 'Dr' throughout their career, even when they're consultants.
And now some dentists have got in on the act, calling themselves 'Dr' even though they're nothing of the kind, and are leaving themselves wide open to litigation by doing so.

You are incorrect there Tilly.
In fact in my new job within the NHS/University of Plymouth I asked this question last week as I was confused as to why some of our Doctors preferred to be called "Mr". It's not necessarily to do with them being Surgeons, other Specialties revert to "Mr" also, but they still hold a Doctorate.

Furthermore, universities award doctorates to professions other than medicine and that entitles the bearer to use the title "Doctor" if they wish. I wouldn't want a "Doctor of Theology" to remove my appendics for example (although they'd have a struggle as it was taken out by mistake years ago!).

Would you approach Dr Ian Paisley (soon to be FM of NI with your medical problems - I doubt it!) He's never been near a medical book or a scalpel from a professional perspective in his life AFAIK.

[tillyoshea]

You are incorrect there Tilly.

Eeek, sorry, but I don't see where we disagree...!

I know doctors from other specialties sometimes prefer to be called "Mr" (common in Psychiatry) and some surgeons prefer "Dr" (common in Obstetrics) but I was just explaining why traditionally surgeons are "Mr" while physicians are "Dr".

And my point about dentists was that some without doctorates are controversially calling themselves "Dr" to distinguish themselves as healthcare professionals who are able to prescribe drugs (which is a questionable reason in itself with nurse prescribers around).

And, for the record, most medical doctors don't have doctorates - most of them have the degrees of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, which are together considered the rough equivalent of an MD (Doctor of Medicine), but technically aren't quite the same thing. They are actually granted the use of the title "Dr" by the GMC, rather than using it on academic merit.

Sorry if I didn't make myself clear in my first post

But now I'm intrigued as to how you had your appendix removed "by accident"

[Nick Harvey]

Traditionally, the tiltle doctor was used to describe a GENERAL practitioner, who in the early days would also be the barber and the vet; whilst a SPECIALIST practitioner reverted to mister in order to show his seniority.

My dentist is actually described as doctor, but purely because he holds a PhD in oncology; little to do with dentistry, but it does help him understand why all my teeth are falling out.

[Stuart*]

But now I'm intrigued as to how you had your appendix removed "by accident"

Well, indeed so was I! Although it was back in 1989 before the prevelance of this litigation culture we have embraced from across the pond.

I actually had Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (irregular heartbeat) which caused a blood clot to move from my rapidly beating heart and block my lower intestines, thereby causing acute pain which my GP thought was appendicitis.

I was taken to hosptial by ambulance and they sliced me open like an oven ready chicken, realised there was nothing wrong with said appendics but swiped the bugger anyway. Then proceeded to cut me open to see what the problem was. I woke up in ITU a day later to find a nice 7" wound up my stomach and a clueless medical staff as to what had caused the problem.

Needless to say, having had my intestines removed, placed on the table, then thrown back into my body in no discerable order (they have no choice) I couldn't eat for weeks while my poor digestive system sorted out the mess they had made of my internal organs.

I discharged myself from Macclesfield Hospital after 6 weeks as they had got no further and checked into a better hostpital (Wythenshawe) and was diagonised within minutes. I stayed while they stopped my heart and re-started it again (that sounds silly - I could hardly pop back for it later, I meant they did it there and then).

Problem was then solved - for 15 years at least, but at least the next time they knew what it was and I was "killed" again and "rebooted" as my sister calls it.

[Johnny]

One good thing to come out of that glaring error though is at least you won't have to worry about appendicitis ever, plus they removed a "useless" part of the body.

However it doesn't bare thinking about what other healthy organ they may have "accidently" removed given the chance

[tillyoshea]

Traditionally, the tiltle doctor was used to describe a GENERAL practitioner, who in the early days would also be the barber and the vet; whilst a SPECIALIST practitioner reverted to mister in order to show his seniority.

Far be it from me to disagree with God, but the Royal Society of Medicine says its a division of surgery and medicine, rather than general and specialist practitioners - and it's the barber-surgeons who are Mr, not the educated general physicians.

In the UK, the division of physicians and surgeons into 'doctor' and 'Mr' derives from the medieval origins of physicians as educated graduates, and the surgeons as apprentices (usually for 7 years) of barber-surgeons ... The derivation of the titles is different; the word doctor derives from the Latin meaning teacher or instructor, and in the 16th century was in common usage to mean any learned man or a medical practitioner. In contrast, the title Mr is a 16th century variant of Master, derived from the Latin, meaning master or teacher. It was Henry VIII in 1540 who gave surgeons the right to be addressed as Master, following the Act of Parliament that united the barbers and surgeons of London.

So there ya go!

...realised there was nothing wrong with said appendics but swiped the bugger anyway.

Aye, but on the bright side, you might've been going to get appendicitis one day, and now you never will!

[Lorns]

Traditionally, the tiltle doctor was used to describe a GENERAL practitioner, who in the early days would also be the barber and the vet; whilst a SPECIALIST practitioner reverted to mister in order to show his seniority.

My dentist is actually described as doctor, but purely because he holds a PhD in oncology; little to do with dentistry, but it does help him understand why all my teeth are falling out.

*Sighs*
How times change. There are 1 or 2 clients of mine i wouldn't mind performing minor surgery or dentistry on.

My salon was once a butchers and abbattoir ( that's true) that dates back over a hundred years. I'm thinking of renaming it Sweeney Todds and adding a fake trap door.