Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Ye Olde MVNHS©

Here's what happens when you let the state determine your health care:

"Mrs J ... had Alzheimer’s and lived in a nursing home. She was rushed to Ealing Hospital one evening when her husband found she was having breathing difficulties ... He spent three hours in a waiting room without staff realising he was there, and so missed the chance to be with his wife as she died."

So compassionate and caring.

And this:

"A man who was diagnosed with stomach cancer ... was discharged ... on an August Bank Holiday weekend in a process described by his daughter as a “shambles”. He was left sitting in a chair, behind drawn curtains, for several hours in pain."

And finally:

"Mrs H ... was taken to Birmingham Heartlands Hospital ... While there she suffered serious falls but her only relative was not told, poor nursing records were kept and she lost 11lb ... she was found to have numerous injuries, was “soaked” with urine."

But certainly these are isolated incidents, not systemic failures, right?

Wrong. As FoIB Elena Marie points out, the Much Vaunted National Health Service© has been "condemned over its inhumane treatment of elderly patients in an official report that finds hospitals are failing to meet “even the most basic standards of care” for the over-65s."

That's not a few cherry-picked examples, that's evidence of wide-spread abuse and a breach of the social contract that these seniors entered into long ago. And it's what young Britons have to look forward to as they move into older demographics, as well.

But certainly it's just a matter of throwing more shillings as the problem, right?

In a word, no:

"The damning report warns that extra money will not help the NHS meet required standards of care and that more problems are likely as the population ages."

Ooops.

The problem, as explained by health ombudsman Ann Abraham, is that it's all about the attitude of those who are charged with providing the care in the first place. And Michelle Mitchell, who runs a British charity, concludes:

The inhumane treatment of older people described in this report is sickening and should send shock waves through the NHS and Government."

And yet, this is the system most admired by Sir Donald.
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