Had a call from the NHS again today, asking if I’d like to book an appointment for a thingy. Only the second call I’ve had in fairness. Different caller this time, so once I again I took them through the same procedure as I did with the previous call. Which was…
NHS.. Hello Mr Potts, I’m calling to see if you would like to make an appointment for a C thing. You can make an appointment with your Dr or local Pharmacy.
ME.. Hello, would you like to talk through the relevant stages, so I can make an informed choice as to whether I’d like to accept your offer of a thingy, or respectfully decline your offer.
NHS.. short pause, What stages are you referring too Mr Potts?.
ME.. Well, firstly are you going to explain to me, that the things in question are experimental technologies, and by agreeing to have one, I’ll be taking part in a phase four clinical trial that runs until January 2023.
NHS.. Sorry Mr Potts, I don’t have information like that to give you. as I’m not aware of any clinical trials taking place.
ME.. OK, could you please give me a full list of the ingredients of the particular thing, I’d be taking, so I can check to see if I’m allergic to any of them, and avoid the possibility of a reaction.
NHS.. Sorry Mr Potts, I can’t give you that information, as I don’t know which brand of thingy you’d be offered.
ME.. OK, then perhaps you could give me a list of alternative treatments that are available, that don’t involve invasive procedures like thingys, and have a proven record of safety and efficacy?
NHS.. Again I’m sorry Mr Potts I don’t have any information of that kind at hand, regarding alternative treatments.
At this point I pointed out to the guy that, the three questions I asked him, make up the core principles of gaining INFORMED CONSENT, before any medical procedure can be carried out. and that those principals are protected under international law. I also pointed out, he was perfectly within his rights to call and ask me if I’d like to make an appointment, but in doing so he should have gone through those three stages with me first, as required by law when asking anyone to under go a medical procedure.
In fairness to him guys, he was reasonable about the whole thing, and obviously logged me as “offered but declined,” in a short conversation we had before the call was ended, he said “I take it you’ve looked into this topic then Mr Potts,” I replied “I have indeed my friend, thoroughly.” The impression I got, was that I’d raised his curiosity level a notch, especially the first part about this thingy roll out being a phase four clinical trial, I truly believe he genuinely had no idea this was the case.
As I pointed out many times before, we do still have legally protected rights to decline the thing. Once you know your rights, and the legal procedures health care providers must follow by law to gain your INFORMED CONSENT, no amount of threats or coercion can change the fact, that without providing the answers to the three questions I asked, any consent I gave, would not legally be deemed informed and would therefore be invalid. I can’t stress that enough to you guys, know your rights and use them. You’d be surprised how quickly even the most persistent callers back off, once they realise the person on the other end of the phone is no mug LOL.
Great questions to ask before you consider the thingy.
