Comments on: Wales: Brief Photoblog 1

By: Damon

Damon — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 10:20:25 +0000

Chiropractic pretty much works. :] Fixed my posture, allowed me to swallow again and pretty much kept me healthy 99% of the time.

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:15:16 +0000

I am a Podiatrist so I feel a need to comment.

Podiatry is an allied health profession so falls under the same catagory as physiotherapy. We have extensive training in medicine, anatomy, physiology, pathomechanics and biomechanics. A significant portion of the profession deal with high risk vascular or neuropathic patients and people at risk of losing bits, and have cross over with tissue viability nursing and diabetes and rheumatology.

We have many peer reviewed journals, such as the journal of foot and ankle research. Significant portions of research goes into more specific journals, my field of work and research (biomechanics) reports normally in clinical biomechanics or gait and posture, amongst others. We are an evidence based profession and adapt and change as knowledge increases.

We are, in the UK, an intergrated health profession, unlike chiropractic, and have stringent licensing requirements. Chiropody is an old fashioned term but is retained to prevent confusion by our elderly patients (no really), podiatry is the correct term but both are state registered and have protection of title.

By: Gary Ansorge

Gary Ansorge — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:52:02 +0000

See Phil. This is what happens when you don’t know the difference between English and American(the language, that is). Those two words may sound similar, but,,,

Pax,

GAry 7

By: Gary Ansorge

Gary Ansorge — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:49:09 +0000

32. Sophia8:

SO, to be a reflexologists you need a whole 100 hours of class and a three hour final (apparently only) exam. Yeah, that sounds like someone I’d trust to know more about my reflexes than do I.

Gary 7

By: sophia8

sophia8 — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:05:38 +0000

TGAP Dad, you are confusing chiropodists with reflexologists. Both of them deal with feet, but there all similarity ends. This is how you get to be a qualified chiropodist in the UK This is one of the ways you get to be a qualified reflexologist See the difference?

By: Harold

Harold — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 03:13:58 +0000

Ah. I learned this word from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy radio program, where the Foot Soldiers on the planet Brontitol abandon their attack on Arthur, Lintilla, Marvin, Poodoo, and the last remaining Allitnil. When Arthur inquires about where the Foot Soldiers, – who all walk with limps because, as the executive for the shoe company that owns the planet explains, their feet are the wrong size for their shoes – have gone to, Lintilla explains “The Flying Chiropodist just arrived…”

By: Sir Eccles

Sir Eccles — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 01:30:52 +0000

ZOMG CENSORSHIP, big chiropodidy must have got to him and you know what they say about men with big feet…

By: John Phillips, FCD

John Phillips, FCD — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 01:25:09 +0000

Molly, while it is not perfect by any stretch, the NHS has the highest satisfaction rate by users of any organisation in the UK. I am one of them, NHS user that is, and without the medical care offered by the NHS my life would be a much less happier one than it is. So you are right, I certainly wouldn’t want to swap it for a US style system.

As for getting to see a GP, apart from home visits which are available if necessary, if I don’t mind waiting I can walk in to my practise and see them the same day or get an appointment in 48 hours maximum. Similarly, if I need to see my hospital consultant, rather than just my GP, I can, with just one phone call, usually see them in equal short order. Though I might have to hang around a while for them to fit me in on any particular day.

Much of the whining about the NHS picked up on by many on the anti-health care reform side in the US usually comes from a certain segment of the press, ironically, the segment least likely to use it. They so like to highlight any problems, sensationalise any shortcomings and run down the UK in general while totally ignoring all the good.

By: Molly

Molly — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:53:04 +0000

Andrew Barton – I live in the Pacific Northwest of the USA and US drs. really don’t care where you live. If you’ve been following the Great Health Care Debate you’ll see there’s nothing in it about housecalls. I know the UK complains about the NHS, but I’ll bet they don’t want to trade.

By: John Phillips, FCD

John Phillips, FCD — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 23:26:57 +0000

TGAP Dad: http://www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/details/Default.aspx?Id=280#

To quote from their front page:

Chiropodists or Podiatrists specialise in assessing, diagnosing and treating abnormalities and diseases of the lower limb. They are trained to alleviate, prevent and correct these disorders and provide professional advice on proper foot care to patients of all ages and walks of life.

Note: They also have to meet professional standards set by external bodies outside their control, i.e. unlike chiropractors, and have to undergo a three year accredited degree course with mandated continued training after.

@mariana, well said and really does highlight the difference between Phil and the various alties (here used in a wider sense to denote anyone who dismisses/ignores/cherry picks evidence even when it is overwhelmingly against them, e.g. MMR/Vaccines |= Autism etc.).