SNAKES AND LADDERS – SNAP – EMPATHY AND COMPASSION…..

In the press recently, titled Snakes and Ladders, Professor Garner has relayed his experiences of Covid-19. No doubt we all empathize completely, and wish him a speedy recovery. He also had a place of comparative ‘luxury’ where, on the BMJ blog site, he was able to tell his important story. Conversely, if he were sat in front of his GP, his GP would not be allowed enough time to listen to all he had to say and make a suitable diagnosis, or definite plan for recovery. CFS or ME would be mooted, and as they are only descriptions and not a definitive diagnosis, it would mean a dead end as far any useful treatment. The symptoms that he and many others describe would be judged as being ‘too varied’. Multitudes of patients have witnessed their overworked GP being expected to make life changing judgments in the ten minutes allocated to each patient, with 20 minutes allowed only when particularly requested beforehand. Life changing, because in reality that is precisely what happens. It is the job of a physician to interpret for medical purposes, what a patient is saying, that interpretation is then added to medical records, for life! With the best will in the world, those 10 minute interpretations are often woefully lacking in reality, often perpetuated and as accurate as Chinese Whisper. When a physician or scientific researcher experiences an illness from ‘the inside’ rather than from a detached clinical or research setting, that position, hopefully, has to be one of the most important aspects in driving medical advancements. The validity and opportunity of shared personal experiences from...