If I had to choose the way I could die, I would probably like to go peacefully in my sleep. It seems that Nelson Mandela no longer has that option. He may have had, and perhaps even been on that trajectory when he was rushed to hospital in the middle of the night more than […]
Martin Young
Martin Young is an ENT surgeon living an idyllic life in Knysna. He is a firm believer that "the unexamined life is not worth living", writes for a hobby and is happy to speak truth to power www.drmartinyoung.com or @MartinYoung
Posted inHealth
Night, night, sleep tight
(For several years I was an expatriate medical officer on a big company diamond mine in Botswana. All names have been changed.) Ring ring … ring ring … RING RING!! The telephone ring cut through the night like a scalpel, tearing apart the layers of my hard-earned sleep. I had been in bed for four […]
Posted inHealth
Bizarre things we could do with medical technology but probably shouldn’t
I saw recently a statement by a scientist that the first human to live for a thousand years has already been born. He was that confident that the elixir of eternal life is within reach. It made me think that there are many things already here or around the corner that medical technology could do, […]
Posted inGeneral, Health
Pins and needles – a lesson on communication
A welcome break from medical politics – I wrote this a long time ago … it still applies just as much now as it did then. All a doctor’s knowledge, skill, patience and dedication are valueless without intuition. When all else lets us down, all the tests and special investigations, it is often the small […]
Posted inHealth
Why do doctors hate medical aids?
We really, really do. You probably wonder about this. I’ve yet to meet any doctor in private medical practice who feels indifferent, let alone positive, about them. Sharing our reasons may offer an insight into why your doctor would prefer you to pay now please, and claim from your medical aid yourself. Technically, it is […]
Posted inHealth
It’s time for a new class of medical doctor
In my last post here I made the observation that I practice medicine in a fee-for-service private system that is dysfunctional. Consumers of healthcare are the obvious losers, being subject to the perversions of the current system that translate into significantly higher cost. I stated that one of the drivers of this system is that […]
Posted inHealth
There’s no such thing as an ‘unnecessary’ operation…
Yup. You heard me. When funders and heath economists talk about unnecessary health expenditure it irks me. You, the patient, may not need an operation but there’s a whole bunch of people who do … the surgeon, the anaesthetist, the hospital, the surgical supplier, the drug companies. Your body is a valuable commodity, and in […]