engleski

They don, t know they, re sick

Our findings to date show that all business difficuties are reflect by the health of business decision- makers, “ says Dr. Rudika Gmajnic, the head of the health centre in Osijek., which launched a so-called managers, surgery three months, ago. Pathological conditions, ranging from simple colds to cancerous symptoms, have been found in 26.4 percent in Osijek managers who have been examined so far. However, neither the numbers nor the profile of the patients examined so far are representative enough to prompt the conclusion that the managers of Osijek and Slavonia face a health collapse. Of the 140 patients to date, all ut 18 are from the ranks of business entrepreneurs or managers. This is, howevwr, less than one tenth of the total number of the people in Osijek who have faced stress, so future patients are expected to improve this unrepresentative picture, Dr. Gmajnic says. Although it is usually up to them to deal with stressful situations, our managers nevertheless push themselves hard, maintaining that everything is fine so long as they can keep on going, so a usual reaction to a heart attack or stroke is that of surprise. „ How did this happen? Only yesterday I was as strong as an ox, “ is the typical comment. This misconception can only be cured through examinations and preventative measures. At the managers, surgery, a medical picture is built up within just two hours. Laboratory tests of blood and urine take longest, and the „ conveyor belt“ , running from specialist to specialist, does not cease for more than one or two minutes. What follows next is a chest X-ray, a set of other tests, a gynaecological examination for women and colon and prostate tests for man over 50. At the end comes electro-cardiograms and ultrasound examinations of the abdomen (kidneys, spleen, gall bladder, liver and panceras). The specialists, reports are finally put together in the hand of GP specialist once he has carried out a hands-on examination. (Stethoscope test of heart and lungs, visual examination of ears, nose and throat, measurements of blood pressure, weight and height ). For those who declared healthy, the only thing that remains is a handshake and goodbye, with a cheery „ See you in six months, time.“ Nervous breakdown candidates There are patients who are ill but without physical symptoms. These are the ones likely to suffer from nervous breakdowns, for whom neither pills nor scalpels are of any help. They are advised, provided they want to come back in six months, time, to spend a weekend or two every month outside their home without television or newspapers, business partners or political friends, and to surround themselves with family and with nature. In Europe, these health assessments cost, depending on the number of specialists examinations, between 500 and 800 DEM – about 100 DEM for each stage, says Dr. Gmajnic. Our calculations show that so far we have managed to cover our costs with 200 DEM, although we will start making serious calculations once we have clocked up six months of experimental work, as we cannot afford to make losses. If we are forced to raise our prices, it is not going to be a drastic increase. We are also thinking about incentives for the surgery, s team of doctors. It is a regular practice in our health centre that our staff receive an extra ten percent bonus for work carried out outside regular duties. Managerial diseases in Osijek The 140 patients so far examined in the first quarter of the surgery, s work include the management teams of Saponija, the Cepin oil factory, the building institute Danas-promet, some smaller firms and an entrepreneur from Osijek who treated his 20 employees by providing them with examinations. A young Croatian entrepreneur was advised by a friend, who had already had an examination, to check whether his heart would be able to withstand an investment, valued at 200, 000 DEM. Young post-war managers are still running on full power, says Dr. Gmajnic, while their older pre-war colleagues starting to use up their reserves. Thirty-seven have shown pathological changes, while some have several diseases at the same time. A breakdown of all diseases shows that there have been ten gallstone cases (two have already been opereted on) and the same number of cardio-vascular disorders (three of whom are candidates for serious treatment). There have also been four cases of diabetes and serious eyesight disorders, three patients were advised to seek psychiatric treatment, and ther were other cases of pneumonia, leukaemia and a liver tumor in its early stage. The most telling indication is the admission by most of the patients, in fact all but two, that not only did they not know that they were ill, but they had no way of guessing that they were not well. There is no better justification for such clinics, not just the one in Osijek, to exist.

manager; prevention; stress

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