The NHS Under Threat

[Sukerkin]

http://www.newstatesman.com/politic...l-offers-final-chance-save-our-health-service

Having been very focussed on the tragedy that has been happening in my own life, I had not realised quite the extent of the Tory drive to sell off one of the few things they didn't hand over to their 'friends' last time they were in power.

Well done to Lord Owen for trying to remind the current crop of Liberals, who are in bed with the Conservatives, what Liberal values should inspire them to do.

 

[K-man]

http://www.newstatesman.com/politic...l-offers-final-chance-save-our-health-service

Having been very focussed on the tragedy that has been happening in my own life, I had not realised quite the extent of the Tory drive to sell off one of the few things they didn't hand over to their 'friends' last time they were in power.

Well done to Lord Owen for trying to remind the current crop of Liberals, who are in bed with the Conservatives, what Liberal values should inspire them to do.

I not sure our American friends appreciate the benefits of an NHS and the implications of its demise. :asian:

 

[Carol]

NHS is a difficult concept to grok because, unlike our Canadian neighbours, we've never had such a thing. But complicated questions of public vs private, costs spiraling out of control, what the hell do we DO with health care, and the like is something we can definitely understand.

I hope we can all find functional solutions that can benefit our respective peoples, whatever those solutions may be :asian:

 

[arnisador]

I'll take it over what we have here.

 

[billc]

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2013/05/annals-of-government-medicine-23.php

Here is the latest: a National Health Service rationing panel refused to pay for surgery that was needed by Rebecca Beattie, 25, to repair her face after it was smashed by an abusive ex-husband. Her breathing is impaired, and her need for the surgery seemed indisputable. Yet the rationing panel turned her down four times. At the same time, the panel approved breast augmentation surgery for a would-be stripper named Josie Cunningham. The Sun expressed outrage in its inimitable style:

A BATTERED mum last night told of her outrage after the NHS refused to rebuild her shattered nose — as wannabe model Josie Cunningham flaunted her taxpayer-funded boobs.
Rebecca Beattie, 25, whose nose was crushed by her brutal ex, was told her £5,500 op was “not essential” and she must pay for it herself.
But Josie, 22, got a £4,800 breast enhancement at public expense after tearfully telling her GP how having small boobs damaged her confidence.
​

Here are Ms. Beattie and Ms. Cunningham:

Yes, that tape does say "NHS"

 

[billc]

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/commentandblogs/2012/09/14/the-number-of-do-not-resuscitate-dnr-notices-being-imposed-without-consultation-is-now-a-national-scandal-what-will-the-bma-do-about-it/

It is, on the face of it, encouraging that there has been such widespread, and such critical, reporting of the case of a Down’s syndrome patient who is taking legal action against an NHS trust after a “do not resuscitate” (DNR) order was put on his medical file without his knowledge or the knowledge of his next of kin. It instructed staff not to perform resuscitation in the event of a cardio or respiratory arrest. It also gave his disability as the sole reason for its imposition.


The 51-year-old man (referred to as AWA) was admitted to the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital in Margate, Kent, on September 7 last year. Despite daily visits by his family and carer and meetings between his parents and the clinicians,

it was only when the patient returned to his residential home that the DNR order was discovered.

As I say, this case has been well reported, and at least on the BBC Radio 5 Live breakfast programme (which I tend to listen to when John Humphrys is on the Today programme — Nicky Campbell is both fairer and better informed) with a horrified reaction, as though this kind of thing is so dreadful it must be, surely, a rare occurrence in this country— unlike, one might suggest as a contrast, Holland, where an official report has showed that in one year, Dutch physicians deliberately and intentionally ended the lives of 11,840 people by lethal overdoses or injections – a figure which accounts for 9.1% of the annual overall death rate of 130,000 per year.

The majority of all euthanasia deaths in Holland are involuntary.

Lethal overdoses or injections are very much worse than simply not resuscitating, of course: and we’re nowhere near being there in this country, yet. But a DNR notice, if involuntary, is well on the way to euthanasia. That’s why the assumption that this is a rare event would be reassuring, if true. But is it?

 

[Sukerkin]

Ahem ... {coughs politely} ... not exactly an accurate account being portrayed there but just enough blood in the water to get the BNP Wannabees frothing at the mouth in righteous fury.

 

[K-man]

Ahem ... {coughs politely} ... not exactly an accurate account being portrayed there but just enough blood in the water to get the BNP Wannabees frothing at the mouth in righteous fury.

And of course it is yet another example of why Obamacare is a terrible idea and would just be a waste of taxpayer money.

 

[Flying Crane]

Ahem ... {coughs politely} ... not exactly an accurate account being portrayed there but just enough blood in the water to get the BNP Wannabees frothing at the mouth in righteous fury.

par for the course? hey when you've got an agenda to push...

 

[arnisador]

And of course it is yet another example of why Obamacare is a terrible idea and would just be a waste of taxpayer money.

...because even if all this were true, look around a U.S. emergency room and get back to me.

 

[Riffix]

I've spent a lot of time in hospital here, had good and bad experience with the nhs, worst being doctors booking me into surgery at7 year old and telling my dad he couldn't spend the night with me and could pick me up after the operation, I was in tears until my dad turned the xray the right way up for him...surgery canceled. as an English man moving to America it does worry me that if I break my arm for a 5th time how much is it going to cost?! I've had physio on my back, neck and arm through the NHS and gotta say I wouldn't of been able to do that if I was paying for it. I met a guy with a huge lump on his neck last time I was in the states, I asked about it n he said its been there for a month but he couldn't afford to get it looked at.

Sent from my GT-I9100P using Tapatalk 2

 

[Big Don]

...because even if all this were true, look around a U.S. emergency room and get back to me.

You mean a place of business that is forced, by federal law, to provide service without regard, and frequently without hope of being paid?
Restaurants aren't forced to feed people because they are hungry...
Car dealers aren't forced to give cars to pedestrians...
Perhaps if the law allowed hospitals to run as businesses, they wouldn't look like that.

 

[Steve]

You mean a place of business that is forced, by federal law, to provide service without regard, and frequently without hope of being paid?
Restaurants aren't forced to feed people because they are hungry...
Car dealers aren't forced to give cars to pedestrians...
Perhaps if the law allowed hospitals to run as businesses, they wouldn't look like that.

Yeah, after all, it's their fault they don't have insurance. Stupid poor people. Glad we're not them. Right don?

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Big Don]

Yeah, after all, it's their fault they don't have insurance. Stupid poor people. Glad we're not them. Right don?

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Let charities do their thing. Oh, but, then the whining would be about how this charity didn't pay for this procedure because it was against their views...

 

[billc]

Hmmm...did people even read this...

against an NHS trust after a “do not resuscitate” (DNR) order was put on his medical file without his knowledge or the knowledge of his next of kin.

 

[K-man]

Hmmm...did people even read this...

Yep, and it might have been a stuff up. But did you read that the guy also had dementia. If I had dementia I would hope that someone would put a DNR on my chart too. :asian:

 

[billc]

without his knowledge or the knowledge of his next of kin.

Yeah, it would be nice if they talked to you and your family before they did it though...don't you think...or perhaps you could get a second opinion...or perhaps they could make sure you were the patient they actually meant to have the DNR and had not accidentally put it on the chart of the 20 year old in for appendicitis...perhaps...?

 

[billc]

just enough blood in the water to get the BNP Wannabees frothing at the mouth

Just looked up the bnp...another bunch of lefties...by American standards...

Economic policy

The economic policy of the party has developed over time. In the 1990s, the party reflected protectionism and economic nationalism, although in comparison with other radical nationalist parties, the BNP focuses less on corporatism.[SUP][148][/SUP] It has called for British ownership of its own industries and resources and the

"subordination of the power of the City to the power of the government"

.[SUP][148][/SUP] It has promoted the regeneration of farming in the United Kingdom, with the object of achieving maximum self-sufficiency in food production.[SUP][148][/SUP] It has advocated ending overseas aid in order to provide aid within the UK and to finance the repatriation of immigrants.[SUP][148][/SUP] In 2002, the party criticised corporatism as a "mixture of big capitalism and state control", saying it favoured

a "distributionist tradition established by home-grown thinkers"

favouring small business.[SUP][79][/SUP] In its 2005 manifesto,

the BNP opposed "globalism, international socialism, laissez-faire capitalism and economic liberalism".

[SUP][15][/SUP]

The BNP rejects the notion ofThatcherism

and "submitting to the dictates of the international marketplace" which "has no loyalty to this country".[SUP][15][/SUP]

The BNP has claimed that it is possible for a national economy to thrive outside of the laissez-faire model,

pointing to 21st century examples such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore.[SUP][15][/SUP] The BNP claims that, while immigration increases the aggregate GNP by providing cheap labour, it decreases the per-capita GNP, which the BNP claims is most representative of the economic well-being of British people.[SUP][15][/SUP]

Just saying...

 

[K-man]

Yeah, it would be nice if they talked to you and your family before they did it though...don't you think...or perhaps you could get a second opinion...or perhaps they could make sure you were the patient they actually meant to have the DNR and had not accidentally put it on the chart of the 20 year old in for appendicitis...perhaps...?

And I am saying people make mistakes in hospitals. That is not an argument against a national health scheme. It may be that the hospital procedures are not what they should be. And, if the guy has dementia, how do you know he didn't give consent?

A majority of the harm and damage was not life threatening, however the study found that a projected 15,000 Medicare patients die monthly as a result of hospital care.
http://www.emaxhealth.com/1357/hospitals-can-be-dangerous-your-health

 

[Sukerkin]

Just looked up the bnp...another bunch of lefties...by American standards...



Just saying...

:lol: :faints: I think we have just established that our world views on politics are severely different, Bill .

I know we knew that but the news you think our indigenous Right-Wing-Nutters are Lefties just goes to show how different the political landscapes we inhabit are.

It's a miracle we can talk on the matter at all with the frames of reference being so dissimilar - so I say, "Yay us" for that .