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By Robert Verkerk PhD
Founder, executive and scientific director, Alliance for Natural Health International
Sustain-a-what?
It feels like yesterday when a group of us natural health campaigners across Europe were looking for better ways of describing the kind of healthcare that exists outside of the medical establishment. Complementary medicine, alternative medicine and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) were among the common descriptors coming under fire (for obvious reasons). I put forward the notion of using the term sustainability, but was rapidly shot down. The word was too long and no one would understand what it means.
Well, it’s now 16 years on. The term is now widely used in different contexts, but most uses of it seem to avoid what I think is the most obvious meaning, and that relates to the duration of its existence. For some, sustainability only means environmental sustainability so if you apply it to healthcare, you consider mainly things like carbon footprints and pollution from pharmaceutical residues.
But let’s face it – it’s bigger than that. Unsustainable systems die out, sustainable ones go on. The current trajectory of the UK system, the so-called jewel in Britain’s welfare crown, may need to go onto life support if something doesn't change quite fundamentally. That’s if you believe the markers that are doing the rounds. It may not survive – at least in its present form.
Early beginnings
We’ve been working on the principle of applying sustainability to healthcare for many years now. After giving an inaugural lecture at the then newly-established National Institute of Integrative Medicine on sustainable healthcare in Melbourne, Australia, I was invited to submit a paper in the Australasian College of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine (ACNEM) Journal, which was published later in the year.
Since then, things have moved on a lot – in terms of the world around us, health systems, science, medical practice, recognition of the importance of non-pharmaceutical modalities, the shared upstream causes of a myriad diseases – and much more.
The unique case of the UK
The UK presents a particular challenge for sustainability – and that challenge is related to the very thing that so many Brits hold so close to their hearts: the National Health Service or NHS. It’s after all the half century-old jewel in the crown of the UK’s social welfare system. It’s paid for by the taxpayer – so regardless of the size of your wallet or where you live, you can receive healthcare – for free, kind of.
But what happens when taxes can’t cover the costs of the service anymore. Simon Stevens, head of Public Health England, and the King’s Fund, the think tank that oversees the NHS and its future, keep complaining that the NHS is running out of money and can’t go on delivering what is expected of it. They’ve tried to slice and dice the thing one way or another, to decentralise, to put more money in – nothing’s resolving the problem – one linked to economic sustainability.
“It’s free, why should I bother taking responsibility?”
But there’s a bigger problem – the NHS is busting under the weight of preventable chronic diseases that it’s actually struggling to manage, let alone reverse (remember when we used to use the word ‘cure’?). Part of the problem is that by the time people get seen by a doctor – the disease is so deep seated, it’s hard to reverse. If that’s not enough, doctors and allied health professionals don’t get much training in things like nutrition and lifestyle factors that cause the diseases, and it ends up being a case of ‘too little, too late’.
Quite a few of us do think there is a solution – and we’ve been working with and taking soundings from a wide range of experts both in the UK and well beyond for some years now. And that’s what our position paper is about. Really importantly – our position paper isn’t about trying to solve any of the NHS’s internal problems, it focuses almost entirely on what can be done outside the NHS to take the burden off it. That means getting people into the driving seat of their own health, and moving the primary focus of health, wellbeing and disease prevention mostly outside the NHS, and into homes, schools and workplaces. It also means engaging a huge workforce of health professionals who have been largely marginalised by the NHS’ rigid, standard care guidance.
Read the blueprint
Our position paper was born out of another talk I gave – this time in late 2017 at the All Party Parliamentary Group for Integrated Healthcare, chaired by the inimitable David Tredinnick MP. I was specifically asked to talk on the implications of Brexit – so we explored what might happen in a world free from the worst excesses of EU legislation.
We obviously shouldn’t be too idealistic – unless we also maintain a healthy dose of realism. So that’s where we are – over a year later – with a draft position paper, on which we’re looking to get input from a wide range of interests, as well as endorsement. Together we are stronger!
We’ve called the position paper: ‘A Blueprint for Health System Sustainability in the UK’. We’re referring to it as a blueprint, because it’s fitting.
Sneak preview of the cover of the draft position paper
If you’re eligible, we want to hear from you!
If you’re a UK resident, you’re a representative of an organisation in the healthcare space, including associations and educators, or you’re a registered practitioner, whether you work inside or outside the NHS, we’d love to have your consultation input when we open our consultation process on 9 April. Deadline for comments and endorsements will be 5.00pm on 7 May.
Please email the ANH team at [email protected] and include ‘SHS consultation’ in the subject line. Let us know your organisation or your registration body. We’ll make sure you receive by email week commencing 9 April the draft position paper, along with a short guideline document.
Many of the principles we’ve brought together in the position paper are applicable outside the UK and in due course, with the right collaborators, we’ll be looking to adapt them to other parts of the world.
We look forward to hearing from interested persons and organisations. And please share this with friends and colleagues you think would be interested.
In sustainable health
Rob Verkerk PhD
Founder, executive & scientific director
Alliance for Natural Health International
Comments
your voice counts
Merri Harris http://www.sjfoodandfarmalliance.com.au
22 March 2018 at 11:46 pm
Terrific. I can't wait to see what you have come up with. I am in Australia and have long followed your site and newsletters. I no longer belong to any health organisations because of their unsustainibility and their relationships with inappropriate (at least in my view) industrial groups.
I have a multidisciplinary clinic and have practiced that way since the early 90's in California and in Australia.
My avocation now is a local community based non-profit organisation called Serpentine Jarrahdale Food and Farm Alliance Inc. and we teach as much about the use of food as medicine as we do about reclaiming soil health as a method of making farming sustainable but also about animal and human health.
I hope I will be able to see your blue print.
Thanks for everything that you do.
Merri
Meleni Aldridge
23 March 2018 at 7:44 pm
Thanks so much for your comment Merri. We will certainly add you to the list to receive the blueprint. Your constructive comments will be most welcome. Whilst this document is of needs UK-centric in the first instance, the content - the blueprint for a sustainable health system - is of use globally. We'll have the consultation open for a month, so hope you will have the time to input.
Best wishes
Meleni
Liz Flynn
24 March 2018 at 2:02 pm
Brilliant. I have forwarded to colleagues.
Miranda Black
26 March 2018 at 10:04 am
Dear Liz
Thank you for supporting us and please do share far and wide.
With kind regards
Miranda
Dr MD Connaughton http://www.connautech.co.uk
29 March 2018 at 7:02 am
I agree with key concepts you advocate and indeed have proposed something similar to friends and colleagues for several months. To ensure I'm in full agreement (the devil's in the detail) I welcome more detail.
Miranda Black
29 March 2018 at 10:25 am
Dear Dr Connaughton
Thank you for your comment we will add you to the email list.
With kind regards
Miranda
Dr Rob Verkerk
29 March 2018 at 12:14 pm
Dear Dr Connaughton - very good to hear from you - and we've got you on our list and will post out the draft for your input, which will be very gratefully received. There is so much that can be done by using the existing human resource better - while not incurring risk to MDs concerned about facing GMC fitness to practice hearings for being outside the scope of NICE guidance. Look forward to further interaction going forward. Best wishes, Rob Verkerk
Teresa Hobday http://the%20Rose%20Clinic
30 March 2018 at 10:23 am
I work as a Naturopathic therapist using a range of different therapies including nutrition homeopathy and psychotherapy. I think that the more natural and client centred approach is much more effective than drug based therapies for the most part so would welcome more infornation on this paper.
Miranda Black
03 April 2018 at 9:52 am
Dear Teresa
Thank you for your comment we will add you to the email list.
With kind regards
Miranda
Dr. Pardeep Kumar http://www.satwaayurveda.com
02 April 2018 at 5:24 pm
👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼Globalisation of Authentic Ayurveda👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Tasha Cornelius http://www.naturohealthnutrition.com
11 April 2018 at 9:58 am
I run my own naturopathic nutritional therapy practice using a wide range of knowledge to support clients. Getting a recognized GP referral system in place and getting more private healthcare systems to accept integrative practices would be a step forward. Also educating people on what costs and healthcare choices they can have control over may encourage healthier personal investment.
Carol Coombes
22 April 2018 at 8:54 pm
This is fab..a number of us non practitioners have been advocating for wellness data to be collated and used intelligently for a while, looking at how we Become Our Own Experts, .and have been sharing information , planning our first hack, and promoting the concept widely. I'd love to see if there's a space for Wellness data, and from non clinician/ practitioner input within this initiative, if possible? Each Becoming Our Own Expert, plus generating income from the first collated wellness info, will not only reduce the burden on the system, but underpin other public services too.
Miranda Black
24 April 2018 at 1:09 pm
Thank you Carol, we appreciate your comment. We will pass your idea to our Directors and ask the question for you. Good luck with your hack, it’ll be interesting to hear how you get on.
With kind regards
Miranda
Lucy Harper http://Nutritional-Matters.co.uk
23 April 2018 at 9:02 pm
I'm a nutritional therapist in private practice and struggling to get enough clients which seems absurd given the need! As a NT I find clients issues get resolved so quickly (often just 2 or 3 sessions) you are constantly needing more clients! Whilst it is great that in the UK we are finally recognising that GPs need training in nutrition it is also depressing that no mention is made of working collaboratively with the therapists who are already experts in that field. The NHS has limited resources and the public appreciate that. I'm sure they would recognise that the GPs budgets don't stretch to cover absolutely everything and would be willing to pay for one-to-one or group sessions to help them achieve their goals.
I look forward to reading your findings.
Your voice counts
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