Posted on 01/12/2007 2:06:49 PM PST by decimon
LONDON - A British Muslim academic called on Friday for "faith specific" health care for the country's largest minority faith community. Writing in the British Medical Journal, Professor Aziz Sheikh of Edinburgh University argued that Britain's 1.6 million Muslims have the poorest health profile of any minority.
"There are few faith-centred initiatives aiming to improve health outcomes for our largest minority faith community," he wrote.
"This reflects the general failure among academics, policy-makers and clinicians to appreciate the particular needs faith communities may have."
Sheikh said the state National Health Service should implement a system to record the religious affiliation of patients, saying this would allow Muslims to see doctors of the same sex as themselves and also avoid pork and alcohol-derived drugs banned by their religion.
Sheikh, who is professor of primary care research and development at Edinburgh University, said infant male circumcision should be provided by the NHS, so poorer parents would not have to resort to what he called the poorly regulated private health sector.
He also wants better prayer facilities for Muslims in NHS hospitals.
A Department of Health spokeswoman denied any discrimination against Muslims, saying services were decided locally according to clinical need and "the diversity of the local population."
"All patients are entitled to ask to see doctors of a certain sex," said a spokeswoman, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with department policy.
She said the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, which regulates provision of health services in Britain, has not approved the provision of infant circumcision.
But another Muslim academic, Professor Aneez Esmail of Manchester University, warned that providing special services for defined groups risks stigmatization and stereotyping.
"While it is reasonable we try to plan and configure our services to take account of needs that may have their roots in particular beliefs...we cannot meet everyone's demands for special services based on their religious identity," he said. "It would not be practical."
The sickness is spreading.
Muslims should be refused all treatments not specifically described and recommended in the Koran.
They want to live by 7th Century rules, make em consistent.
Agreed, headache chop off their head. Impotent..well...
Where to start with this? Good grief.
Faith-specific treatment,
Lists of patients and their religious affiliations,
special prayer rooms,
choosing physicians based on gender rather than expertise
....And when Sharia takes over, anyone not on the list, won't get treated.
lol, excellent
"A British Muslim academic called on Friday for 'faith specific' health care for the country's largest minority faith community."
Better pay the jizya infidels.
... muslim academic ... an oxymoron if there ever was one.
One more time, y'all ... islam is a cult, not a religion. It deserves no legal protections in the sense that Catholics, Baptist, etc do.
In '66 I went from Fort Leonard Wood to Lake of the Ozarks and, like other idiot soldiers, rented a motorbike with an iffy shifter. Not quite succeeding in hurtling myself into any canyons, I crashed instead into a pottery stand.
I offered to pay for the damage done but the owner gave me "soldier specific care" in refusing the offer while cursing the motorbike rental joint.
But I digress and you are correct.
They want this, go back to the middle east.
7th century medicine for a 7th century faith? I'm all for that! Or they could take the modern option, "will that be semi, or full-auto?"
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