The UK Government, or at least the dominant Conservatives within the coalition, are constantly looking for ways to get more private money into the National Health Service. The goals are, supposedly, to augment public funds and to introduce greater efficiencies into the system.
You have to wonder if any of these Tories are having second thoughts in light of the ongoing scare over dodgy breast implants. The Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley, is still urging the 40,000 or more women who have received the PIP implants not to panic. However, it seems inevitable that the NHS will soon have to agree to remove the implants from any woman who requests it. France, where the PIP implants originated, has already committed to doing so, and the evidence that the implants are hazardous continues to mount up.
What this means is that scarce NHS monies that would have been used to pursue established medical priorities will instead be diverted to rectifying the dangerous consequences of unnecessary surgery carried out by a gang of profiteering cowboys. Not that I'm angry or anything. However, do remember this episode if your local hospital has to cancel important surgical procedures such as joint replacements in a few months' time because it's run out of money.
You know, probably the only thing that would get me more riled would be if I heard that the Foreign Office was making emergency plans for the possible collapse of the Euro, with the use of public funds to repatriate to the UK all the petty criminals, tax dodgers and "broken Britain" whiners who've decamped to the Spanish costas.
What's that you say? Oh.
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