Can hospitals deliver health?

(Image from Internet)

We can indeed look for health in hospitals & clinics too. Here are a few tips;

• Acute disease should be tackled with patience, rest, and hydration. This was the approach of MBBS doctors. At AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, this is the strategy that is being adopted
• Nutrition ought to be a very important intervention. This is being tried out at SUM Hospital, Bhubaneswar
• Junk foods must not be allowed within hospital premises
• Hospitals ought to have open spaces where the patients are exposed to sunlight
• They can have gardens where patients can be allowed to roam about in bare feet
• There should be space for yoga and freehand exercises 
• Patients should have scope for active entertainment sessions as in some hospices abroad. They are allowed to interact among themselves, are entertained by performers, and can play games. The TV is a very poor source of entertainment with negative values
• Medication to be resorted to only when other methods fail and should be kept to the absolute minimum. The MBBS doctors were masters in this approach
• Patients must be convinced that their diseases are amenable to cure and that they will return to an active life so their spirit is boosted
• If the above are tried out there will be an increase in incidence of acute elimination symptoms as the vitality improves and the body embarks on a cleaning spree; cleaning waste and toxins. These episodes should be handled well without aggressive action. The load of chronic disease will fall along with mortality rates
• If the system understands the curative value of elimination system of the body and aids it, chronic disease will reduce drastically. All doctors must study the value of detoxification and adopt detoxification procedures
• The radioactive machinery, chemotherapy units, and the vaccination centers should be housed in separate buildings away from out and in patient units. These make the hospitals a breeding ground for diseases. As awareness increases these will find their way out as they are disease creators and in no way helpful
• The movement against overbilling should be intensified. Unnecessary depletion of finances sends the entire family into shock and renders everyone sick. The presence of 5 star hospitals is the sign that medicine is a commercial venture
• Continuing education should be from experienced doctors who practice such methods and have the best interest of patients at heart, and not industry representatives
• Medical representatives must not be allowed within hospitals
• The learning from such and similar methods should percolate to medical education
• Creating awareness on basic determinants of health should be a part of all medical institutions

Things will change if the doctors decide to be change agents.

A doctor friend has liked this note. However, he says, patients come to hospitals in a sorry state that requires immediate medical attention. The government hospitals are very crowded and the doctors are stressed. Maybe the above points can be tried in a private setting for validation. He will be writing in a bit of detail and I will include it in this blog.

My response;

We are currently disease focused leading to the stress that affects both patients and physicians. Such a focus also leads to disease complications leading to deterioration in health leading to emergency situations; the cause of stress.

If we are health focused we can avoid the stress. Hospitals ought to be lifestyle and nutrition correction centers. Diseases can be detected early by noticing changes in circadian rhythm, rise in stress, feeling of unease, and fall in hunger levels. That ought to be the intervention point so that diseases do not progress further.

If people can visit wellness centers once a year for detoxification, meditation, exercise, and education on nutrition and lifestyle, this will be a great preventive measure. This should be accompanied by sanitation, hygiene, provision for safe food and water, health focused housing, and safe livelihood options.

The environment is very important. Industrial, vehicular, and electricity/ wireless pollution is behind many of our ills as well as lack of diversity in food, plummeting nutritional values, and extensive poisoning of the food chain. These issues should be actively flagged by the doctors.