Better than cure
Teaching people how to stay healthy is much more effective than trying to treat them when they get sick
A DOCTOR'S job is sometimes likened to that of a lifeguard on a riverbank: the doctor dives in to rescue patients who have fallen or jumped in. Politicians have tended to concentrate on publicising these dramatic rescues, rather than on stopping people getting ill in the first place—by, for instance, encouraging them to eat better, stop smoking and take more exercise. Health-promotion workers are fond of saying that the National Health Serviceis consequently more of a sickness service than a health service.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Better than cure”
From the September 2nd 2000 edition
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