[Goanet] Doctor in the House?

[Dan Driscoll]

As some may know, I have just experienced the demise, and obsequies held, 
for my wife. We lived a long and eventful life together, so I'm not about to 
grieve in any negative fashion. One aspect of it all however prompts me to 
make a suggestion that might be open to discussion in our GoaNet Forum.

We were both quite cognizant of the fact that ageing process was implacably 
at work, and we felt that doctoring and hospitalization could be more of an 
irritant than anything else. For ten years or more we have had the same 
Doctor, with whom I have no reason to complain even at this stage.

However, on a Sunday morning, two weeks back, I became convinced that a 
doctor housecall was of urgent need, so I called our Doctor. No way could a 
house call be made on that day. Patient would have to be taken to one of two 
clinical venues; medical conference going on all day; etc, etc.

On bringing the matter up, as of today, with Doctor I showed some residual 
ill feeling, and he, in a voice quite as raised as was mine, he assured me 
that if he were to make a housecall in my vicinity he would be neglecting 
patients in his own area of responsability.

My point was not that he should neglect anyone, but that the medical 
fraternity should try to have two or three doctors on standby who could 
respond to an urgently stated need for housecall. He (no doubt rightly) 
points out that by calling 108 one could avail of an ambulance 
facility---which has a doctor in attendance. I was not aware of this; the 
108 protocol is of quite recent vintage; not everyone is well informed about 
it; I have seen references about it but would have thought that personnel 
staffing an ambulance would be paramedics rather than doctors. Perhaps if 
Doctor had given me this advice when I first phoned, in my panic, it might 
have helped calm me down.

In any case, it's over now; and I must apologize for having today ventilated 
my distress to the good Doctor himself, in his own chambers. I'm still left 
with the notion that (somewhat like 'Sunday Open Pharmacy') the public 
should be able to avail of a 'doctor housecall', without having to move a 
critically ill patient or resort to an ambulance service. Is that a 
feasability---or am I just being a bit 'old fashioned'?