Sarah Standing

Standing Room | 21 March 2009

Last Saturday I was sent a stiff, glossy brochure informing me of imminent changes in my local podiatry services.

issue 21 March 2009

Last Saturday I was sent a stiff, glossy brochure informing me of imminent changes in my local podiatry services. NHS Westminster plans to invest £540,000 in this pressing ‘service redesign’ and being a taxpayer and local resident they wanted my views. I had a questionnaire to fill out and return. Alongside the requisite ‘Are you male or female?’ boxes to tick, I was asked the following: Do you have a physical or mental health condition that has lasted at least 12 months or is likely to last at least 12 months? Yes or no? Although I quite fail to comprehend the correlation between having some rubber-gloved nurse gouge out a verruca and a potential bipolar episode, I paused only momentarily before taking an optimistic standpoint and ticking ‘no’.

The next question really floored me. To which of these ethnic groups do you feel you belong? These were listed alphabetically.

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