Private healthcare and hopitals

One of the main reasons people choose private healthcare is that it means more control over which geographical location you're seen in the event that you need medical treatment. And also of course it means that there's more flexibility when it comes to arranging treatment times as with most types of policy you can avoid the sometimes lengthy - and often complained about - waiting lists that are a reality for many types of treatment if you're not with a private medical insurance policy provider.

This week it was reported though, that there may be another benefit to private medicine, which is that the infection rates are lower. According to a report in the Independent, "private hospitals had a lower infection rate than the NHS". the picture looks positive overall with infection rates having fallen by a massive 22% since the previous survey in 2006.

In other news this week industry news website hi-mag.com reports that an interesting new clinic has opened up in the heart of London's financial district. Offering biochip technology services to test for up to 250 different symptoms - plus even a cutting edge 'diagnostic stress test' the clinic is sure to be popular with individuals and firms in the area. With big firm or small business health insurance providing employee cover it means that staff health can be managed more efficiently and have people back to work as soon as possible.

Dental health and time off work

Before the days of the ATM, people had to queue up at the bank to get money. It might not seem like much, but think about the logistics involved if you needed a tenner. You had to find a branch of your banking provider, then go into the building and wait until there was a bank teller free to deal with your request. 

And given that the banks were only open during business hours, ie the hours of the day most people were at work, it was even more of a challenge. The only thing that saved many people from mega-frustration would have been shops that accepted cheques.

A similar situation happens when we need to see the dentist. It means straying away from the office - sometimes quite far, as well - in order to get that filling done and get your mouth back to full dental health status. Of course, there are dental practices that open late one night a week or maybe more. But in the main, our dental appointments are generally booked in for some point during the working day.

So it's all the more surprising to read this week that fewer than half of UK workers get paid time off to see their dental health practitioner. Quoted in a report on the dentistry.co.uk site,  the Chief Exec of the British dental health Foundation said that the findings highlight a general "low level of importance" of maintaining "good oral health".

As anyone knows, toothache is no fun. And as the article points out, poor dental health can lead to a host of other ailments, some serious. So don't put off that dental treatment.