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PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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New Book Navigating the Healthcare System Offers Practical Insights for
Patients and Healthcare Professionals Alike 

Public health systems are a cornerstone of any
thriving society, ensuring that all individuals –
regardless of financial status – receive care when
needed. Yet, the healthcare system often feels like a
giant, slow-moving bureaucracy, criticised for its
inefficiency and burdened by ongoing staffing
shortages. 

In Navigating the Healthcare System, author Ina
Farrelly provides much-needed clarity, offering
both patients and healthcare professionals tools to
better navigate the complexities of the system and
advocate for their care.

“Healthcare should serve everyone, but with the
system under immense pressure, both locally and
globally, we face some tough questions,” says
Farrelly, a practising podiatrist with over twenty
years of professional experience. “While issues like
funding and staffing shortages are constantly in the headlines, it’s crucial to consider
how we, as patients and clinicians, interact with the system. My book aims to
empower readers with the knowledge and skills to not only understand how the
system works, but also how to make it work better for them.”

Farrelly acknowledges the challenges highlighted in the recent 2024 report from Lord
Darzi, which outlines issues faced by the NHS – challenges echoed in public health
systems worldwide. The shortage of healthcare professionals, particularly nurses,
remains a critical issue. For example, in March 2024, England’s Chief Nursing Officer
Ruth May announced that 90% of the NHS’s 50,000 nurse recruitment target was met
with staff from overseas. While Farrelly stresses that the international recruitment of
healthcare professionals is a human right, she also highlights the unintended
consequences this has for both the countries losing these skilled workers and the
pressure it places on already stressed health systems.

“Patients may not always understand the HR limitations or the cultural gaps between
them and the clinician in front of them,” Farrelly explains. “These gaps place extra strain on the system and can impact care. This isn’t just about nursing. Vacancies in
allied health professional roles, where shortages can be even worse, are just as
concerning.”

"While funding is an ongoing conversation in healthcare, Farrelly believes that
throwing money at the issue is not a comprehensive solution. “The pandemic, staff
exhaustion, and an ageing population mean that healthcare systems are struggling in
more ways than one,” she states. “More money won’t solve these problems overnight.
We need to rethink how we engage with the system and how patients advocate for
themselves within it.”

The book also explores the role of technology in modern healthcare. While the
potential of digital solutions to improve efficiency is evident, she warns of the risks of
cyberattacks and system failures, which can endanger patient safety.

“When writing my book, I initially set out to focus on foot care as a podiatrist,”
Farrelly says. “However, over the years of working in the system, my frustrations spilt
over. I realised that this book needed to be more than just a medical manual; it needed
to help people understand the entire healthcare system and how to effectively navigate
it.”

In Navigating the Healthcare System, Farrelly distills her professional frustrations and
insights into a practical guide that empowers patients with the knowledge they need to
maximise their care.“Public health systems belong to society, and it’s time for
individuals to step up to the plate and take responsibility for their own healthcare,”
Farrelly says. “This book aims to make that process easier for everyone.”

For those seeking to better understand the healthcare system and take charge of their
own care, Navigating the Healthcare System is an essential read. The book is now available
for purchase.

End

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Book Images

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Biography

From Book Back Cover

When I was a child, I wanted to be either the prime minister or an undertaker. The later, I reasoned would always provide steady work, as death is inevitable. I was a pragmatic child, and this has served me well later in life. The former goal because I have always wanted to help and fix things. (One could argue that I didn’t understand politicians.) Somehow, I ended up as a nurse, then retrained to become a podiatrist.  

Both provided a different view of being a health professional. I must have got something out of the experiences as I worked in the health sector for thirty years in both the private and public sector across five countries. (Writing that makes me feel tired.) My dad always “There is time enough for looking at the lid when you are dead”. So I blame him for my insatiable curiosity (or nosiness) for my always looking out for what is going on around me and asking “why?” or “why not?”

Less Formal Bio

Blessed with what she now understands to be an idyllic childhood in New Zealand adulthood taught Ina that people with a plan are to be admired. She never envisioned being a grumpy podiatrist working across five different countries in both private and public health settings.

Her grumpiness comes from the knowledge she probably could have had an easier life if she had a plan she followed. Having said that her willingness to take to hard path has led her to wonderful friends across those countries and an understanding that no one has all the answers, and everyone sounds like an idiot sometimes and one needs to just get one with it.

She currently resides in London still mired in the NHS and trying to get people to understand she really does know what she is talking about. While she has previously published in medical journals this is her first attempt to get her thoughts down on paper for the public. She is always happy to chat about how we can make things work better for everyone even if no one listens to her (circling back to the grumpy).

Images

Photo Credit: Lenka Kominkova	Photo Credit: Lenka Kominkova
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