Once upon a time, before the days of Facebook, Bebo, and iPhones, before we twittered, tweeted, texted or even emailed, if you wanted access to a health care service you looked up Yellow Pages or asked a friend for a recommendation. And then you went into the sitting room or bedroom and used a landline phone to arrange an appointment. You were seen, treated, you wrote a cheque and left. You might go back again for another treatment. You might not need one.
How things have changed. Today I visited the osteopath who treated my back before we moved to France. I was relieved, though not surprised, to be greeted by Helen How with the same warmth and care I remembered as her hallmark. During my first episode of back care treatments from Helen, I recall giving vent to my disapproval that my previous osteopath had just raised his fees significantly and that although I believed he was a skilled practitioner, realised the resentment I felt towards his increased fees meant it would marr the therapist/patient relationship.
In current times it seems that more and more practitioners are jumping on the bandwagon, with their persuasive online advertising, to treat backs and other bodily parts that might otherwise only be helped symptomatically i.e. pain relief and anti-inflammatories. While therapies which address structural causes of pain and discomfort are the way forward, do such practitioners need to market their services so aggressively by recommending patients immediately sign up for ten sessions when perhaps only two or three are necessary? Are such high fees mandatory?
At the Helen How osteopathic clinic (info@howclinic.com) I received an hour’s appointment for a very reasonable £35. This included a catch-up consultation, machines to loosen the tight and inflamed parts of my back, some manual massage, ice treatment and advice on self-care. On finishing there was no hard sales patter to pressurise me into making another appointment. The initiation to do so came from me. When I arrived in fact, I heard Helen tell another patient that a follow up session wasn’t necessary at this stage but that she’d like to be kept informed of progress. Now that is caring.
Thoughtfully yours
Jane
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