Karma and the UK's National Health Service

[Mark]

Good guessing, wow, for someone who never met or treated her.
Or were you her doctor or some other member of the medical community who killed her?

You have no evidence to suggest things were one way or the other!

The NHS has many, many failings, however it's a cherished part of Britain, so do not use it as a pawn in yet another American polictical debate!

[ArrowsFA1]

Typical Daily Mail article.

Exactly. Their agenda will be to highlight cases which, on the surface, justify the current government's top down reorganisation (some would say privatisation) of the NHS. Of course under a private insurance based heathcare system cases such as this would never happen.

[Dave B]

Even if (and given that paper's track record it's a massive "if") the article is factually correct, it's hardly evidence that the NHS is failing. It treats literally millions of people every month, and as such it's almost certain that every once in a while something will go wrong. To the individual and their family that's devestating, and I'm not belittling their suffering, but statistically it's damn-near irrelevant.

[Dave B]

I've found the link to the story as it appears on the Mail's website (which in turn appears to have been lifted word-for-word from a local newspaper):
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...-hospital.html

It's very sparse on facts, but one part which didn't get reproduced in the OP (and by the way, that website is laughable) was this:

'From July to October there was talk of another operation and then between November and December there were three or four postponements and she was becoming so institutionalised we decided to get her home until an operation was certain.

'It was a blessing because although neither of is could have guessed it - it gave us a last month together.

'Nevertheless, she was unable to take proper nourishment and went into the operation on the better side of a low state - she was very weak.'

Now it would be foolish to dabble in conjecture, but I wonder if the family's decision to look after the patient at home instead of letting the hospital do their job was a factor. There's clearly more to this story than the newspaper has reported. Tragic it may be, but it's hardly typical of the NHS.

[Mark]

Don't let facts get in the way of the bashing, Dave.

[Dave B]

Why were the procedures cancelled? If it was due to logistical reasons she'd have skipped to the head of the queue and her procedure would have been performed within a week of her cancellation. Given that the article mentions her weakened state her op was most likely cancelled repeatedly as she represented a high anaesthetic risk.

Several years ago I had an operation cancelled twice because my INR was extremely elevated. I had a genuine risk of bleeding to death on the table, which far outweighed the potential benefits of the surgery. No complaints from me.

Again, selective reporting by the Daily Mail with a refusal to clarify exactly why the procedures were delayed, most likely because it didn't fit their agenda.

In fairness, more likely they didn't know. The article is either ripped off from thisistotalessex (earlier time of publication), or it's agency copy. Either way, they didn't bother doing any actual journalism.

[markabilly]

You have no evidence to suggest things were one way or the other!

The NHS has many, many failings, however it's a cherished part of Britain, so do not use it as a pawn in yet another American polictical debate!

nor does he, but clearly the "cherished" failed

[markabilly]

Silly woman! She should have come to the U.S. so she could have been denied treatment (unless she had good private insurance or lots of cash) right from the start. See, that way, she and her family wouldn't have needlessly gotten their hopes up.

That's what makes this the greatest dang country on earth! Unless you're dirt poor and can get on Medicaid, are old and can get on Medicare, are rich and can foot the bill yourself or have a private insurance plan and you won't exceed your annual or lifetime limits... you can spend your remaining days with your family. Why waste time begging doctors and hospitals to treat you, when all they see when they look at you is a lease payment on their BMW 750/Mercedes S Class?

There, that's my happy thought to start the month of April.

working for a government agency always provides the best insurance and she would have been well taken care, unlike many working stiffs whose taxes pay for those nice health benefits

[Dave B]

nor does he, but clearly the "cherished" failed

I don't think anybody has ever suggested that the NHS is perfect in every way, but it's equally moronic to use one isolated case (even ignoring the flaws in the reporting) to suggest that the whole system is failing.

As I said, while the case is clearly tragic for those concerned, it's statistically a non-event when you consider the millions who are successfully treated.

[ArrowsFA1]

I'm not sure which is worse, http://www.ihatethemedia.com or the Daily Mail.

A former Director of the Great Britain’s National Health Service...

Margaret Hutchon, according to the original piece, was a non-executive member of the board of directors with Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust.