Johan Moreau: the elephant.

Johan Morreau: You talk about US going to our politicians and asking them to commit to THE SOLUTIONS. The “elephant in the room” according to Johan Morreau. Presumably… “the solutions” that you espouse. You use the term “we”, therefore I am assuming that you are speaking on behalf of your colleagues and the system, and that the presentation isn’t just your personal opinion.

You say, this needs to be an “all-of-the-country” solution.

Don’t you think , therefore, that your first move should be consultation with “the-whole-of-the-country”?

What about sit down with people like me and discuss the problems in the medical model that are already identified? Are you willing to do that? And maybe considering a local trial, to see whether or not empathy, compassion and connection can start first, in your house?

We have plenty to discuss. First your satisfied youtube review of the medical model:  ( transcript )

"In health we've done lots of good things:
1) Improved standards of care in our maternity hospitals:

Hmmm.... good things... improved. Ummmm. For whom? The nurses? The doctors?

Every email or message I've had says it's worse in 2016, not better. Even midwives are disgusted at your comments.

2) Our newborn department.

What planet do you live on? Since I hit the publish button on the first blog I've been deluged with ongoing dramas ranging from the fact that Motueka maternity hospital does NOT allow skin-to-skin except for brief breast-feeding, to a family, in a mainstream hospital with a baby forced onto IV antibiotics on the say-so of a doctor. Not one symptom of significance, no fever, just episodic heavy breathing ONLY when the baby is separated from the mother and forced into the hospital plastic baby holder. No consideration that the problem might be a version of separation anxiety.

3) Our surgical care of children is fantastic.

I will give you a bit on this one. Comparing what is done now, with what was done in 1981, SOME things are better. At least no-one is now told, as I was told, that "newborns don’t feel pain" Remember that day? You were standing there, when the head paediatrician said that, and you didn't even wince. However, today, newborns are traumatised by far more tests, tubes and assaulted with vaccines because you think it's good for them, YET before babies are vaccinated, NICU is warned because you know that after you give sick babies vaccines, particularly premies, your staff are going to get extra practice with bradycardia, oxygen sats dropping, breathing irregularities and monitors going off twice as often. But that doesn't matter does it. Policy is what matters.

4) Care of children with cancer is beautifully done.

Again, is that your view, or the children’s' views? Parents are basically held hostage to a system and know no different. But I will give you one thing. The support services are very compassionate, because they know that the most likely outcome WILL be death.

5) Immunisation has changed the face of child health medicine. We don't see a fraction of the sick, dying and damaged children that we used to.

I have three views on that Johan.

First, I have the mortality and morbidity data available since 1872, therefore know the facts, and you are dreaming. Do you realise that the NUMBERS of NZ cases of polio in this country between 1872 and today just about matches the number of cases of preventable medical error you guys cause in 18 months? Do you realise that the numbers of polio deaths equates from 1872 - today, equates to the number of preventable medical error deaths in this country in 3 months? My grandparents and parents lived through the worst of the polio outbreaks. I was born in the middle of on, and not one person in our extended family actually got clinical polio, but, as your literature admits…. most got natural immunity.

Oh but Hilary, you're talking pears and apples. Really? Not really. The crux is – what caused the most damage in each era. So, we’ve got rid of polio. But what are the real dangers to us, and our children in 2016? You.

The fact of the matter is that in this country, someone going into hospital now, has around a 1 in 20 chance of coming out with an additional problem caused by you guys doing something wrong. I know. I've seen that happen too. Personally I’d rather take my chances with Polio, because in New Zealand, the published nicely rounded out, estimated risks used to be one per 2,000 to get sick and 1 person out of each hundred sick people, ended up with paralysis.

When my son was in ICU for a week as an adult, THREE other patients were there at the same time because of preventable medical error committed in the previous few weeks. Whether they got into the data-base detailing your mistakes is another matter. And if it hadn’t have been for my eagle eyes, my son could have landed up joining them.

And that's another thing. You know, don't you, that the data for your preventable medical error, nosocomial infections etc, aren't publically available? When I asked the Statistics department why, I was told that "it might confuse people". In what way, Johan?

Secondly, since I first met you in 1981, there have only been subtle infection shifts... like Hib - a bit of pneumococcal, and measles. You say it’s changed the face of child health medicine. True. Now you have a generation with such serious chronic and allergic illnesses, that you’re running out in circles with no real solution to offer.  Have you thought about why it is that acute disease has been swapped for chronic ill-health?

In the time you've been a paediatrician, whooping cough has increased hugely, and the small drop in the other infectious diseases has been replaced by an explosion in MRSA - largely of your making - cellulitis, child cancer, child chronic diseases of rates never seen when you first studied paediatrics. In fact, children's hospitals are still run off their feet with infections in fully vaccinated children, which are actually getting worse and harder to treat, like childhood cellulitis. Isn't that right? I have plenty of nurse friends, who give me running monologues.

Another thing they tell me is that many of these problems stem - not from the government funded systems not working properly, but from parents who think that daily nutrition is comprised of a meal balanced on the knee. Twisties, lollies, white bread and coke. Even worse are the streams of intelligent people posting pictures of what is supposed to pass for hospital nutrition, on Facebook. It seems you guys have no clue of nutrition, so what incentive do parents have to change their ways?

Since 1981, it's been my experience that you rarely see the children of responsible parents who understand nutrition except for accidents - but the irony is - and please tell me if I'm wrong - the vast majority of your patients in your hospital are fully vaccinated good little medical doggies. Right? Who all have no clue what real health is all about, because neither do you.

6)  Then you say, "So you would think we would feel pretty good about this, and we sort of do, but there's an elephant in the room"

So plainly you do feel good about how the system operates today. Delusion number one. The real elephant is the one you studiously ignore.

Then you show us pictures of babies, uncles, fathers and connections. (All white pictures. Why is that?) You talk about love and connection from the first day of conception through 1,000 days that grows and develops an infant's brain. That their primary attachment figure is their mum, and they will learn empathy and understanding etc etc. (transcript) Then you say, "We in child health are increasingly seeing the impacts of poverty - financial poverty, poverty of parenting, poverty of spirit and hope... struggling stressed tired parents - no time to give to their children. Often young, sometimes addicted, lacking their own parental models and lacking parental support.”

Now, I agree about this current generation. Their own parents are often addicted to TV and video games, and ignored them, so it’s little wonder their primary linkage is IT. These kids don't connect well face to face, and even in their own groups primarily converse phone to phone. Take them out in the bush where there is no wifi and they cremate emotionally, because they have no idea how to survive without their blue screens.

Bullying is rife. Ignorance is rife. They are fearful to the max because they are ignorant which is actually good for you because you can scare the pants off them once they are in your office and they buy it, hook, lie and stinker. You actually like this malleable group because they don't give you much trouble. They just roll over and do what you say. It’s the ones in this group that are also drug addicted and have gone off the rails that are the real problem, right? And most of their children are fully vaccinated. Ironic really.

Some of those less addicted to their Ipads, are instead, addicted to their friends, coffee cliques and live off the backs of the opinions of their groupies. You like this group too, because they also just do what you say as well.

The group you really hate though, (and hardly ever see, but blame for all your immunisation woes) are people like me. Who brought our kids up in the garden and the mud - who fed their children really well, so that when they did get sick it was nuisance value only. No, we didn't vaccinate.

Neither did we put our children into school where you have so sneakily corrupted the hearts and minds of the children and teachers, by acting as vaccine and thought police .

At first our kids may have thought they were deprived, but as time went on they realised the plus side of not being forced into your moulds. They achieved things that wouldn't have been possible if we'd put your handcuffs and balls and chains on their thinking processes.

7) You say, "No money means accessing health care is difficult"

For us, "No money” meant finding easier and better ways to heal our children. “No money” gave incentive to find answers "outside of the mould", even if wooden apple boxes were part of our furniture.

8) You say, "Food is often inadequate". Well, that's sort of right and wrong.

Right, in that often these parents are ignorant and think that junk food wouldn't be sold if it wasn't good for you. Food for their children COULD be adequate, but often these parents priorities go like this: Drugs, alcohol, smokes, disposable nappies ... oh.. and the cheapiest food they can buy.

The ultimate drug addicted "ME" generation which has accidental "add-on" children, who just don't feature in their priorities, are your problem children.

And just like the problem kids in the classroom who suck up 90% of the teachers attention leaving everyone else ignored, these parents also suck up 90% of your attention, leaving the silent ones ignored. The problem is that the numbers of those who have lost the plot, is starting to grow alarmingly. Their parents are truly on a planet of their own.

But so are you on another planet, because you are the system and you still think the system can fix it. The problem is the elephant in the room isn’t the one you think it is.

To be continued -  Part Three.