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we have to be patient. We are in a society that is used to having instant gratification and if we want something, we want it now, unfortunately we can’t do that. The National Health Service is distracted by the worst global pandemic for over 100 years with very serious repercussions and we have to be grateful for what we have, make some adjustments, be patient and get through this by helping each other out as much as possible as well as looking after ourselves. It is quite scary and most of us are on tenterhooks with what’s going on and naturally if you go back to April when the weather was lovely and warm, but now rain, cold snap, bit of wind and the dark days it’s rather gloomy so is this a concern with you in the medical profession? Of course, and people are feeling down and tend to, get Seasonal Affective Disorder in the Winter anyway with the dark days and not much daylight “What is there to look forward to?” people might say. Mental Health Charities are being kept very busy, much more so though than in the last few years. It’s always been a challenge, but I think a lot of people are feeling particularly anxious even if they weren’t before or more anxious if they were before and feeling depressed, not sleeping very well. I think we have to be able to manage we have to be able to give people the support so they can reach out to mental health apps, counsellors, doctors and just talking to friends and family about our concerns as I think everybody has this degree of apprehension at the moment but that’s normal it’s a sort of protective mechanism but if we can share our fears and concerns that really helps. It’s worrying on so many levels for instance whether you are an employee and people you have worked around for years are being made redundant or the business you are working in is at threat, it’s going to make people very jittery and it really brings it home and makes it difficult for most of us and knowing how to keep above it? I think it’s choosing the things we can do despite it being Winter, we can still exercise as much as possible in daylight hours, we can cheer ourselves up with a good book, a good film or some uplifting music. We can talk to the people that we trust and we love, so there are many things that we can still do, there are some things we can’t do but there are still plenty that we can do and we need to hang onto those and spend as much time enjoying life as we possibly can. What’s concerning, and I have heard this from a lot of people is that they are worried about Christmas, worried about their families and the whole thing moving forward is unsettling. Christmas time is usually when we can see and spend time with our elderly relatives, and you would maybe notice any problems or if something is developing that you could help with? I suppose it’s the time of the year that families get together after a long busy year so the thought of having to forego that is distressing for a lot of people but at the same time we don’t know where we are going to be in a couple of months’ time. I think for me as a doctor health is paramount and we need to protect our elderly and people with pre-existing conditions but there are ways of connecting and communicating which are safer than others. If we care for our parents, then we are already caring for them however if we are in different households and there’s any risk of transmitting the virus then talk on the phone or online. It may be that we just have to wait a little longer and have what we would normally have at Christmas a couple of months later. Do you have faith in a vaccine being beneficial? Yes I think it’s likely that amongst all the hundreds of vaccines that are being worked on at the moment that we will have several that have a good protective effect it may be that we have to use a combination or use a combination several times a year. There are some very clever people working on this and we have created vaccines against all sorts of diseases that we couldn’t master before like meningococcal meningitis C and A and respiratory in situ virus in children. We are developing vaccines all the time which are effective and safe, and I do have faith that a vaccine would be the answer. With the measles jab, people stopped having it done and am I right in saying that rose again and more children were getting measles and it’s a very serious illness in children? Yes, before we had a measles vaccination hundreds of children died of complications of measles and of rubella and occasionally mumps so MMR has saved thousands of lives and whilst people were worried by a study from one just man that was dismissed the coverage for a vaccine is back up to where it was before, thank goodness. People have forgotten that a hundred years ago 1 in 4 children died before their 5th birthday of disease. We mentioned the care for our elderly relatives and I think it’s an opportunity when we don’t see them from year to year to see how they are getting on and we might as the middle aged children of elderly parents recognise changes in them that have been gradual that nobody else has noticed. We might find for example that their cognitive function is a bit slower, that their concentration is less, and they can’t find the words that they were looking for. They might be forgetful or hard of hearing. If they can’t hear you on the phone or online, then they are going to miss out on activity. We know that loss of hearing is the leading preventative cause of dementia. If we can correct peoples hearing, then they are less likely to develop dementia. 34% of people aren’t aware that there are things that you can do to prevent or delay the onset of Dementia and top of the list is making sure that people can hear well. If people have a mild hearing loss it doubles their Dementia risk but if they have a severe hearing impairment the risk is 5 times that of someone that can hear normally. Checking on the elderly checking their hearing making sure their vision is good, making sure they are not too isolated, eating & drinking properly and keeping their mind busy with crosswords, books that sort of thing physical activity all of these things help. These are things you can discuss on the phone and you can encourage people to get their hearing checked for example. So if somebody does have bad hearing can a specialist visit them at home or do, we have to take them to a specialist? There are NHS services but they are very much under strain at the moment but there are some good high street outlets such as Hidden Hearing where you can go and have a free hearing test. You will be given advice about what level of hearing loss if any you have and what could be done. It may just be something simple such as wax removal is needed but it could be a degree of hearing loss caused by increasing age that could be corrected with a hearing aid. This can change people’s lives almost overnight and can have a dramatic effect. It reconnects them with the world, they can understand conversation, share jokes, they can socialise. It makes a huge difference and that means no more isolation or depression and happiness again. Finally, everybody has different things that they have missed since this has all happened. What have you missed most during this difficult year? I’ve got 5 children, 3 grandchildren and an elderly mother whom I look after. I would love to invite my children round or go to stay with them, but I haven’t been able to as it’s just too risky, I don’t want to put them at risk and vice versa. We speak on the phone a lot and I miss them terribly, but I look forward to the time when we can all meet up again. The interview took place before we had the news that a vaccine had been approved, and until fully implemented everyone should continue following the Government’s advice. Go to www.gov.uk for more information. www.northcotswoldslifestyle.co.uk | 29
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