[Gate Keeper]

Originally Posted by edwardmk

Sorry to hear of these experiences. Medical and dental records do belong to the patient, and you have a right to at least have a copy, although this may be charged for by some practices. On line access is also offered now by most GP practices, but not dentistry yet. Much depends on the attitude of individual Drs. In dentistry, there are binding out clauses in contracts which almost treat the patients as possessions of the principal(s) of a practice. They are designed to prevent young associates moving locally and taking a large list of patients with them ( which instantly reduces the income of the original practice). Private dental practices are usually only too happy to register new patients, but the NHS generally is suffering from too many demands. This leads to a reluctance to increase the list size in some areas.
I've had the message 'your call is important to us, please hold, you are number x on the list' many times, but I know of some who have had ' We are oversubscribed and unable to take your call, please call back next week!'
And if you get too upset, your get de-listed. Good luck to us all.
Ps. Our second son has been living with us now for over 10 years. He is intelligent, but has mood swings which are heavily influenced by food choices. There is a book called 'Food mind and mood' which is worth reading. Anti- depressants are a short term solution, but long term is all about how those around the depressed individual can help. Diet and exercise with meaningful work are all very important.

Thank you Martin for those insights into the workings of the NHS and how your son's mood is affected by food. I can understand a dentist in private practice wanting to hold onto their patients, must be fearful of losing a patient when a partner in the practice moves away, taking patients with them. Thank you for the book recommendation 'Food mind and mood.