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The Patient Paradox – Why Sexed-up Medicine is Bad for Your Health
Author: Margaret McCartney
Publisher: Pinter & Martin
Pages: 336pp
ISBN: 9781780660004
Review
It is a brave doctor who argues in opposition to the medical dogma of the day. I would like to meet Margaret McCartney, the Glasgow GP and author of this provocative book, who writes with conviction against the value of modern medical screening.
This book reminds me of The Tyranny of Health, written by Hackney-based GP Michael Fitzpatrick, which offered similar views on aspects of the 2004 general medical services contract, as well as the vast amount of public money spent on preventive health care. Dr McCartney offers convincing arguments against the usefulness of a number of current screening programmes, such as breast cancer, cytology, cardiovascular disease and prostate cancer, as well as the modern trend to encourage people to feel positive about ‘fighting’ personal disease in the belief that it will bring benefits.
This book will appeal to nurses who wish to influence future health service provision and how public money is spent. After all, the dogma of the day is often deemed to be tomorrow’s nonsense. It also looks at issues relating to the pharmaceutical industry and health messages exploited by the media.
I hope that this book provokes an intelligent national debate.
Reviewer: Lynn Young
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The RCN Publishing Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Royal College of Nursing, the world's largest organisation for nurses. RCN Publishing produces one weekly, eight monthly and two quarterly nursing publications. Nursing Standard, the flagship journal, is the UK's biggest selling weekly for nursing. It is produced by RCN Publishing Company along with a suite of specialist nursing journals - Cancer Nursing Practice, Mental Health Practice, Learning Disability Practice, Nursing Children and Young People, Nursing Management, Emergency Nurse, Nursing Older People, Nurse Researcher and Primary Health Care. RCN Publishing Company also produce the RCN Bulletin, a major source of up-to-the-minute information for RCN members in all specialities, grades and working environments. With the latest nurse vacancies from trusts nationwide, it has become the most cost-effective nurse recruitment magazine available.