The Sprout

NHS - No Help Sent

Posted by archifCLICarchive from National - Published on 19/10/2009 at 00:00
1 comments » - Tagged as Health, Topical

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Britain has often boasted internationally about its National Health Service how it takes care of all our medical needs and bills practically free of charge. That is of course once you deduct the tiny tax rates we shell out.

We don’t hassle our patients in hospitals over unpaid bills like our cross-Atlantic cousins. When someone rings 999 about a broken nose, it gets taken care of. Anyone suffering from a chest infection Hey, we’ll give you prescriptions! Over here in Wales, they’re even free of charge!

So medically speaking, we’re the most blessed country in the world right? Wonder if 50 year old plumber Hertfordshire, Torron Eeles would agree with that. October 8, 2009 The Daily Mail printed this article about how he has waited 10 months and counting for an operation to set his arm right and been cancelled on numerous occasions on the grounds of clinical safety.

The man has been left crippled and unable to even butter his toast, let alone resume his job. The NHS have commented on the story with their usual PR brilliance; making the middle aged man look like a fool for complaining about having to live with an arm resembling a spanner. This of course isn’t a stray case of systematic failure, it is routine as far as the NHS are concerned.

When we say emergency, we mean, we need something put right ASAP. But what the NHS evaluates is whether or not it is bad enough to kill us. If not, then we’re fine and not in an emergency, hence we can continue to lead our lives until they feel fit to slot us into their busy busy timetable even if that means we have to live looking like Mr Bean’s car.

It’s an emergency if you’ve been shot in the chest or involved in car crash but there is no space for considering emergencies in more mundane situations. In other words, it is only an emergency if what we’ve suffered has been lifted straight out of a Hollywood action movie.

In addition the swine flu panic swept the country to such a degree that doctors have stopped seeing people with any kind of flu whatsoever. Until of course you cannot breathe any more then what you need to do is dial 999 and confirm your name, address, phone number and your medical situation and wait for the coveted ambulance to arrive.

Is this what things have come to? No situation is serious enough nowadays unless you’re an inch away from buying your one-way ticket to hell. Surgeons and nurses are so scared of catching the ultimate Swine Flu Virus that someone with even a mild cough and cold can’t go into surgeries nowadays, but instead are asked to log onto the NHS website for instructions on how to get well themselves.

This kind of practice honestly makes all of us, as a nation, look like pansies. We’re mentally as tough as a sponge if we can’t sort ourselves out and get our priorities straight. Unfortunately, it’s not us taking the decisions that make us look a laughing stock on the world stage. Those who do make the decisions, well, they might just find a million things wrong and unethical about this piece to begin with. Instead of......that’s right straightening out the priorities.

Sub-Ed Note: As with everything on theSprout, this is the author's personal viewpoint; we at theSprout get all Swiss and take a neutral stance on things. If you disagree with the article, leave a comment below (remember everything has to be moderated first, so it won't appear immediately) or submit a counter article to us.