'Use it or lose it'

I am enjoying my time in Ireland; wonderful people – wonderful country (wonderful weather?!).

Meanwhile my 77 year old swimming partner back in Australia is painting his house (first of all when he said he was painting ‘the house’ I thought he meant my house as he is house sitting for me at the moment – but alas, no!).

My local pool, Byron Bay.

He observed to me that he does not think he could have taken on this task before we started swimming a couple kilometers each morning about eight years ago now. For him it is about achieving something against the odds and enjoying every minute of it; for me it is about mobility – being a chronic back pain sufferer – and simply how ‘good’ it makes me feel.

Now we do our morning ritual on opposite sides of the world.

All manner of people turn up at the Dublin City Council Pool at 7 each morning. Apart from the Dublin Fire Brigade crew (‘Fireies’ we call them in Oz) most are not at all good swimmers and choose the ‘slow’ lane. But they try and they stick at it and leave in much better humour than when they arrived.

Now the last thing I want to do is preach. I have checked the ‘10 signs that you might be an annoying fitness freak’ and so far I am OK. I am not inflexible (I can miss a day or two and I work my exercise around other things rather than the reverse), not one-dimensional or intimidating. But I must confess to being just a little self righteous and judgmental from time to time (read on and you will notice this!).

However, on one point I am a zealot; that is the quest to eradicate those who prey on people who have already been indoctrinated by the (perfect) image makers. ‘If you do not measure up to this image we have created (which in real life does not exist) no one will admire you, in fact you might be ignored, or worse, you might be despised’. These are the peddlers of products and services that promise miraculous changes in beauty and even personality, with no particular effort or change in lifestyle, but simply by using a particular product or service.

From time to time regulators ban those that make false claims or sell stuff that is obviously ineffective, but marketing and the vulnerability of consumers being what it is the regulators can’t keep pace.

Make lifestyle choices and, if necessary, changes that are not onerous, that are sustainable, that are informed, which can endure and, most of all, which are fun. No shortcuts.

Use it or lose it.

Now, Snowy, there is a colour, a blue, called ‘inspiration’, I would like for the outside, and inside perhaps ‘renoir’, which is an off white pinky colour….

'From Little Things Big Things Grow'

('From Little Things Big Things Grow' title of this post inspired by the Paul Kelly and Kev Carmody song)

Given I have worked in education and change management for over 40 years, mostly in healthcare, it will not surprise you  that I believe that at the heart of all sustainable change is education.

My other passion is animal welfare. When contemplating recently how to advance the lot of non human animals – was it to be wildlife rescue, or neglected domestic animal rehabilitation – it soon became clear to me that, as necessary as these interventions are, the way to ensure that future generations develop attitudes and values that respect all inhabitants of this planet is through education. These newly acquired attitudes and values will then be passed down the generations, enhanced on their journey.

My dog, 'Mr Johnny Angel', off on a journey of his own. 

And so it is with healthcare.

Alfred Marshall was a turn of the century social scientist who is probably better known for his economic theories. Among other things Marshall wrote about ‘price elasticity of demand’ which describes how price increases lead to a fall in demand.

The extent to which demand is driven down varies depending on a number of factors but chief among these is the essential nature of the good or service in question. In healthcare demand is highly inelastic with a 1% increase in price leading to just a 0.2% drop in demand. One can reasonably speculate that this drop would be in elective healthcare. You are not going to cancel your life saving surgery just because it suddenly got more expensive (but you may decide not to have those wrinkles removed).

You and I have an almost insatiable demand for health care services. The cost of healthcare is high yet we continue to use it. In fact the demand for healthcare services vastly outstrips the supply – or at least the timely supply. So, whatever it costs, one way or another we will likely continue to use it. In fact, as medical science daily finds new ways to cure or alleviate illness the take up of health services increases.

World healthcare costs increase and our demand increases right along with it.

Here is where education comes in. If we as a literate population took the time to understand more about what happens to us as we age or sustain minor injuries we can make more informed decisions about the nature and level of care we need to alleviate health problems and global health cost would come down. But we need to be careful. I am not talking here about self diagnosis websites – although there are some that are useful – but rather a professional structured approach to educating populations about the who, where and when of healthcare interventions.

In time, animals will occupy a better place amongst us through our enhanced understanding of who they are. It is not too much to expect that education can also move global health standards forward.