`I attend Dr James Dolan. I like him for a lot more reasons other than because he is a GP and a homeopath. He takes a more holistic approach to individual health. The whole idea behind homeopathic medicine is treating the individual or personality. "The first few times you go he asks you a lot of questions about yourself which may seem irrelevant at the time - but he knows us all now and it is very easy to speak to him and he is helpful on the telephone as well. He spends a lot of time with you and I believe it is good value for money.
"A lot of homeopathy is common sense and listening to your body, which people don't do any more. If you have a serious illness which really cripples you, you become aware of its patterns and avoid certain situations - but unfortunately people do not take that approach when they are generally healthy. As a society now we feel we have to keep working no matter what.
"Generally I don't go to the doctor unless I am pretty desperate. If I get a cold or something I would take vitamin C and zinc. Last year I had a bad 'flu and I was sick for several months. I have a tendency towards pneumonia and was very aware of that. I had a couple of attempts with homeopathic medicine to try and knock it. But then I was going away to New York and Dr Dolan suggested antibiotics. I felt it was a real failure.
I did get better but was sick again a short time later. "I have a four-year-old daughter, Sadhbh, who has never had an antibiotic, but she has never been really sick. However I do not go to a wild extreme: I would rely on Dr Dolan if he felt something else was needed. My children range in age from four to 22 years. When I was living with my husband, who is a doctor, they would have had an antibiotic if he felt it was necessary. In general, doctors' families get over-prescribed.
"I haven't gone for other forms of complementary medicine. My partner had a stab at acupuncture but, funnily enough, he hates needles, and has a low pain threshold! So much in our society we feel that we should never be in pain or unhappy - but those things are natural. They are signals from our body that something is wrong.
`I have four children and I had three of them at home. The one that I had in hospital picked up a staph infection even though I had a private room and only changed her once in the public area. When I had my babies at home I had the midwife for the same price as going as a private patient to hospital. I saw her monthly, then fortnightly, then weekly and then daily.
"When I was having the baby she stayed during the complete labour and did not leave until after the baby was delivered. She was with me every day for two weeks after. "If you go to a specialist you might see him once or twice and then he may not even be there for the delivery. With a midwife you see her so often that there is a real build-up of confidence. The service I received was phenomenal."
