大象传媒

Healthy Visions offers five expert views of how healthcare can and must change if current levels of provision are to be maintained and grown - meeting the high level of expectation from patients as medical advances continue and as the population becomes larger and older. In this edition Dr Michael Dixon argues that the idea of doctor as ultimate dispenser of all medicine, may have to be sacrificed, with the expertise of a wide range of health practitioners called upon to get best care. Dixon has been implementing his views successfully in his Devon GP practice for a number of years and his ideas are now being extended elsewhere. The programme visits a Brighton surgery which practices "narrative" surgery - instead of patients turning up for specific treatment for specific ailments, they tell their "health story", throwing up a list of possible medical issues which can be treated as a whole. Recommendations include singing and writing sessions which can help deal with some of the underlying causes of ill health. The emphasis is, not just making people "better" in the conventional sense, but helping them to be well - in a wider and deeper sense.

Producer:Arlene Gregorius
Presenter:Dr Michael Dixon
Editor:Andrew Smith

Recording of singing provided by Grey Matters Productions.