It’s hard when we hit New year with the expectation that this year is going to be different and you’re going to lose weight, exercise more or eat your 5 a day.
And then you look outside and it’s dark, raining and miserable. Plus, it seems, at least half of us have had the flu over Christmas and New Year.
How do we grasp this New Year feeling and help it get us through the darkest, coldest month of the year?
If there was an easy answer to all of this then we’d all being doing it, yes? When it comes to health though, which we would consider one of the most valuable gifts of all, then maybe there are some things you can do which will help things head the right way. This current climate in the NHS doesn’t sell itself to making good health choices. In the NHS we are so desperate to manage acute illness that looking at wellbeing is just not an option. GPs are trained in health promotion; we know blood pressures, diet or diabetes monitoring is vital to prevent disease down the line but with flu/covid/strep going on there is not the headspace. Back in the day we’d phone Mr Bloggs to talk him through whether he wanted his PSA screening or talk to Mrs Bloggs about whether her current medications are a good option for her long term, but those moments of time in general practice are no more.
This isn’t supposed to be an advert for Coastal Private GP but I am aware it’s got to the point that if you care about your future health and staying well into retirement that you need to think differently about how you access your healthcare. What we have the pleasure of in the private sector is time. We care just as much as the NHS but we can give you the time to take a grip of your health needs now but also your health moving forward. We can make sure your screening and wellbeing checks are done on time- with timely results and an expert discussion about how you move forward.
We can offer wellbeing packages, screening, blood monitoring, medication reviews, smears, asthma check ups and more. With the packages now available all this becomes more affordable.
And if you’re one of the poorly people still struggling with the Christmas flu then get plenty of rest and put the New Year resolutions on hold. We’ve still got all year to get those done.