TVs with patronising informertials in doctors waiting rooms

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  • On the other hand, our GP has installed a TV screen at the request of the patients. Now instead of the walls being plastered with posters that nobody reads, the posters are displayed on the TV screen as a slide show (no volume) which lots of people watch, and on the walls are paintings by local artists.
  • I'm curious, what's muzak?
  • paulofessex
    paulofessex Posts: 1,728 Forumite
    Some GP surgeries have Patient Participation groups/committees now, believe its something to do with health trust policies. May be worth seeing if your surgery has one and see about writing a letter pointing out issues such as loud music/tv's after all they are there to represent the patients.
  • Lou67
    Lou67 Posts: 766 Forumite
    olias wrote: »
    Have just had the pleasure of a visit to my GP where the waiting room has two giant flat screen TVs playing a continuous loop of informertials (usually narrated by the extremely annoying Julie Peasgood) at full volume, patronisingly telling me to 'brush my teeth twice a day', eat my 5 a day', 'try and do some excercise like walking to the shop at least once a day' etc, etc, etc.

    Well thankyou very much, I don't know how I got through 45 years of healthy life without those wise words...............But I do know that I now have a headache that I didn't have before.

    I have tried in the past asking the receptionist to turn the volume down, but was told that they couldn't alter them, as they are on a pre set volume by the suppliers (?)

    The one in my local hospital waiting room is even worse - it just plays a continuous loop of upside down skydivers with ribons trailing from their feet to the background of a really annoying piece of muzak...Aaaaaaaaaaaagh. I'm sure that was well worth the several thousand pounds it must have cost to install! :mad:

    Olias

    I could not agree more; they're sooooooooooooooo annoying! :mad::mad::mad:
  • London50
    London50 Posts: 1,850
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    I'm curious, what's muzak?


    muzak

    1. bland pre-recorded background music heard in elevators and other public places
    2. any uninteresting music
  • Evilm
    Evilm Posts: 1,950 Forumite
    The one at ours is at least on mute so its less annoying.
  • DCFC79
    DCFC79 Posts: 40,598
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    No tv but they do play the local station in the dentist, volume is at bearable level.
  • pmduk
    pmduk Posts: 10,655
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    edited 21 February 2013 at 7:49AM
    VfM4meplse wrote: »
    Believe it or not, there are people who don't actually know this. Publicising basic public health messages can have a positive impact on these groups and prevent future ill health, it's not aimed at the middle classes that frequent this forum.

    I fully accept that, however, I suspect that the patients who most need to hear this, are probably outside, puffing on a cigarette, or telling wayne/kylie to share their bag of crisps. Then again, I may have lived in Salford for too long.

    (Last time I was at my GP's there were 3 women, (each with children running riot), all proudly comparing their "tags" and discussing how many times they've breached their conditions so far.
  • dizziblonde
    dizziblonde Posts: 4,276
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    They installed one of these in our GPs relatively recently - but they'd obviously been on the installation/great idea flogging course but not the "how to update/customise/make this relevant to your practice" course... so for weeks on end we had the same 10 minute loop of the default installed options of some fictitious medical practice news; public health films from about year 2000 plugging changes in the law that were "forthcoming" waaaaaay back then; and the announcement voice that no one had noticed called patients in with "Mrs Smith please to room 7 please please." They'd even left the promotional "ain't this cool" film from the manufacturers on there. Plus half of the films cut off halfway through as well - just to add to the irritation.

    Now they've at least found out how to remove the extra pleases and taken SOME of the out of date films off there (the reception staff admitted they were being driven silently crazy with it) but it's an incredibly annoying creation.

    I had a run of appointments recently - with vaccinations due for the little one, midwife appointments for me and GP checks on an ongoing condition - I can recite most of the loop off by heart.
    Little miracle born April 2012, 33 weeks gestation and a little toughie!
  • Fire_Fox
    Fire_Fox Posts: 26,026
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    edited 21 February 2013 at 4:15AM
    pmduk wrote: »
    And pumping these details out in the waiting room will help how? Do you really think any of it sinks in? Those people who are interested will have already researched the subject.

    These systems are installed as there's usually an element of advertising space to be sold. Actually, they're usually installed at little/no cost to the practice.

    So we should stop all community or population health promotion, make all Public Health staff redundant and stop offering degrees in the field? Read the published research instead of assuming it is completely ineffective. I have, having worked in and studied healthcare for over two decades.

    And no, those who are interested do not properly research the subject. Most are incapable of distinguishing between a trustworthy source and a poor source of health information - the public reads and parrot commercial diet books, magazines, Wikipedia and advert packed alternative 'nutrition' websites. I can't remember the last time I saw a new client who knew what all the healthy living guidelines were, yet plenty are interested or they wouldn't come to our service.

    Those most people do know about are the ones most heavily 'advertised' - stop smoking and eat five a day. Yes, even the illiterate chavs. ;)
    Declutterbug-in-progress.⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️
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