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The human cost of cerebral palsy cannot be overstated. Many sufferers endure an extremely poor quality of life and often have to endure considerable amounts of pain. In most cases the incidence of cerebral palsy and its control are outside the knowledge and capabilities of man. Most incidences arise in the womb and are attributable to natural causes. As knowledge and skills increase then greater control might be exercised over this condition, but for now we must accept that for one in five hundred live births we will see a case of cerebral palsy.

The financial cost of providing for these unfortunate people is naturally considerable, but it is an inevitable cost that a caring society must bear. Any who do not accept this are themselves unfortunate.

What are not acceptable are cases of cerebral palsy caused by human error, lack of an appropriate duty of care by medical professionals and other forms of medical negligence. In March 2009 a young boy was awarded a compensation payment of £5.2 million for medical negligence that led to his cerebral palsy. The boy was deprived of oxygen and suffered brain damage during his birth. It appears that the baby had been in a poor condition in the womb for ten hours before it was decided that a caesarean section was necessary. Despite this the hospital denied responsibility until the last moment. The case took place in Scotland and it was settled out-of-court just a few days before the scheduled court hearing. This means that all the details are not available. The total compensation paid out for medical negligence in Scotland has been £36 million over the last two years.

In April 2009 in another court in England a two year old boy was awarded £1 million for medical negligence that led to cerebral palsy. Again the boy suffered oxygen deprivation during his birth. He has quadriplegia, the variant of palsy that caused paralysis in all four limbs. The £1 million is only an interim payment and it is anticipated that the final settlement will be many times greater.

These are just two cases in the last two months. In the UK there are around 30 births a year that result in cerebral palsy due to medical negligence. The costs are unacceptable both in human and financial terms.

Many people suffer from many different illnesses and usually, they go to hospitals to seek cures for their illnesses. It is believed that health care professionals should treat patients as thoroughly and professionally as they can, that is applying the appropriate care correctly. Further this would mean, applying the correct medication or treatment with the right doses, or the right approach or method, and on the right location. Generally, when any of these general provisions is incorrectly undertaken by a medical professional and it results in complications, other sicknesses or worse, the death of the patient, this could be a case of medical negligence.

The medical profession has many branches such as medicine, nursing, physical therapy and mental health. Each field has its own code of ethics and jurisprudence. These codes of ethics and legal study are taught while the individual is still studying, in order to avoid a common or simple case of medical negligence. Not only are students made aware of what these cases can be but they also are being taught of their basic rights as a professional as well as the patients’ rights, and that of their immediate family members. So, aside from the mentioned ill-treatments, violating the rights of the patients may also constitute a medical negligence.

The most common disease nowadays is Diabetes, which causes an unthinkable number of deaths every day. This alarming death rate raises the importance of recognizing this insulin-related disease. The body’s inability to produce enough insulin, or utilize existing insulin, causes the blood glucose levels to shoot up.

Types of diabetes: -
1. Type 1, mainly in children and is easily diagnosed.
2. Type 2, an insulin resistant condition occurring in adults.
3. Gestational diabetes during pregnancy.

Watch out for these symptoms: -
1. Frequent urination
2. Extreme hunger or thirst
3. Blurred vision
4. Sudden weight loss
5. Dehydration
6. Numbness or tingling in hands or feet
7. Fatigue
8. Irritability
9. Extremely dry skin
10. Recurring urinary infections
11. Repeated vaginal yeast infection
12. Slow healing wounds

Symptoms are usually obvious, developing quickly and lasting for a few weeks. Exhibiting each or many of the above symptoms depends on the individual person, but never delay if you might suspect anything like diabetic symptoms.

Who is at risk?

• Anyone above the age of 45.
• People with a family history of diabetes.
• If you had diabetes during pregnancy.
• Asians, Hispanics, native and African Americans and Pacific Islanders.

However patients can live long and happy lives if early signs are better recognized and complications prevented.

Medical malpractice is professional negligence by act or omission of a health care provider. One category of medical negligence is when the care provided deviates from accepted standards of practice that mostly results in either injury or death to the patient. Standards and regulations for medical malpractice vary by country but generally, medical professionals are required to maintain a professional liability insurance to equalize the risk and costs of proceedings when a medical negligence is committed.

Medical negligence claims fall into a number of different areas, for instance, failing to provide treatment which would be reasonably expected from a competent practitioner or provider. Failure to provide treatment could either be failure to give or administer the needed medication, or it could be a failure to give the correct medication or failure to give the correct dose. Either of these provisions constitute medical negligence under the ‘failure to provide treatment’ category.

Hospitals and medical facilities are already taking steps in order to prevent any kind of medical negligence. This is because, aside from posing a risk to the reputation of the medical institution, mostly medical negligence leads to the loss of a life that should have been saved. Treatment is the purpose and what patients seek, that is why they come to medical facilities like hospitals and clinics in the first place.

Anyone who has travelled for a long period of time by plane will know about jet lag. Jet lag is a physiological condition. When a person travels for a long time in a place, they suffer from this condition which could last for many days. This affects your health. The body is not in sync with the time of the place that you have reached.

Jet lag is more profound if you are travelling to the east from the west. The eating time, sleeping time, even the temperature of your body varies from the outside environment of the place that you have reached. Jet lag can lead to appetite loss, digestion problems, disorientation, grogginess, depression, nausea and many other symptoms.

To relieve yourself from jet lag you will have to have regular sleep for a few days. You can also avoid sleeping in the afternoons and try to eat foods that are balanced. Your system will slowly get adjusted to the new time zone. You should avoid going to bed as soon as you reach the new place. Even if you are not able to prevent yourself from going to sleep, restrict the nap to a few minutes. If you do this you can easily manage jet lag and stay healthy. Plus, think positive and feel positive and you are sure to beat jet lag.

Electronic health services are heaven sent in this time where everything is computerized and where all the information that you need about your health problems can be obtained from a computer. There is also the possibility of getting a prescription online also for your ailment. At this juncture it would be very helpful if all your medical records were electronically stored. The health records of the patients are stored in an electronic format. This has the complete information about the nature of the illness, the manifestation of the symptoms in the patient, the previous treatments the patient has undergone, the medications that he had taken in the past, and the medications that he is currently taking.

The electronic heath services also include test, scan and any radiation results. If the patient is suffering from any allergies, also it is mentioned here. So when a health care professional looks for the particular patient’s file in the electronic health record, it will give a comprehensive view of the particular patient’s case history that will enable the professional to act upon it quickly and accurately. Electronic health services helps in providing quality health care. This is followed in the US, many parts of Europe, and also in Canada. Electronic health services helps to give quality care to those who are in need of medical advice and help.

Personal injury is defined as being injured, whether physically or psychologically, as a result of medical malpractice or accident. Accidents are the common causes of a person suffering injury. Car accidents top the list of injury-causing accidents, while other causes include work-related injuries, vacation or holiday injuries, and many more.

It is also common that whenever a person suffers a personal injury, you can claim something for your insurance and the mentioned kinds of personal injury are covered by any personal insurance policy. Also, in most cases, the person who caused the injury also has the responsibility to at least give monetary support to the injured person. Similarly, companies also have a responsibility to support workers who met with an accident during work hours.

Even though it is clear that when you met an accident you can get something out of it, being involved in an accident alone is not a joke and very unfortunate even regardless of who, what and where it happened. It involves not only your physical body but also your mind. Therefore, it could be said that you are aching inside and out, and no amount of money can comfort that pain your feel after the accident and the treatment.