End-Stage Socialism...
Posted on 05/21/2005 7:35:18 PM PDT by aculeus
A nine-year-old boy has died after an operation to treat his severe epilepsy was cancelled because Britain's top children's hospital had run out of money.
Peter Buckle, from Evenwood, in County Durham, had a massive seizure and died last Monday. He had been waiting to undergo surgery at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London.
The brain operation which might have saved his life had been cancelled twice. The first time, on March 15, Great Ormond Street cut back its operation lists after finding that it had treated more children than its budget allowed for. The operation was rescheduled for April 22, but cancelled three days beforehand when a ward was closed after staff contracted a viral infection. It had since been rescheduled for June 10.
Peter's mother, Judith, 42, said: "We will never know if the operation would have saved him - that is the most awful thing about this. I was very bitter, just like any mother would be, but it has been a long road. We are devastated. But that's life, isn't it?
"We will remember him for all the wonderful memories he has given to us. He was our special little boy."
Great Ormond Street has pioneered the relatively new field of epilepsy surgery for children, which has a good success rate.
However, recent investigations by The Sunday Telegraph have highlighted how the dire state of NHS finances can affect patient care. Earlier this year this newspaper revealed that hospitals and primary care trusts have accumulated debts of an estimated £1 billion between them.
In March, it was made public that Great Ormond Street was running a £1.7 million deficit. As a result, it cancelled 100 operations and closed up to a fifth of its beds.
A spokesman for the hospital confirmed that the initial cancellation of Peter Buckle's operation could be attributed to the hospital's "financial situation", but said: "We regret cancelling on any patient. The first thing we do is reprioritise [operations] according to clinical need. We offer our deepest sympathies to the family."
The hospital declined to comment further until a coroner's investigation had been completed.
Information appearing on telegraph.co.uk is the copyright of Telegraph Group Limited and must not be reproduced in any medium without licence.
NO CARE FOR YOU!!!
Just wait until the malpractice lawsuit hits! Oh, wait, I forgot...under socialized medicine, there isn't any such thing as a malpractice lawsuit. Never mind....
No, that socialism.
End-Stage Socialism...
Horrible story, very sad.
Does the UK allow private care for those who can afford it? Info appreciated.
Sir Topham Hat and his nationalized health-care system.
Although such an approach sounds ridiculous, you really never know what's going to work when you have socialized medicine.
This is the health care system that Hillary Clinton wants to give us. Socialized medicine. For all the faults of the pay-it-yourself system (mostly healthcare costs driven up by unethical lawyers), nothing is worse than socialized medicine, and this is only one example.
These people have had way too much of the Kool-Aid.
Paging Hillary Clinton... Hillary Clinton, please pick up the red courtesy phone...
Well, Hillary! knows...She knows everything/sarcasm off
>> But that's life, isn't it?
Apparently in England it is.
The joys of Socialized medicine.
In Europe, the world is not according to Garp but according to any paradigm other than supply and demand. In this world of make believe and social justice, reality is merely a concept which can be altered by correct selection of vocabulary.
So, tacitly, the mother of a sick child is assured that, with this socialized health care program, the law of supply and demand can be repealed and a new law of "compassion" will protect and treat her child. She need no longer stand by impotently in envy while a rich child receives the care her child so desperately needs. What could be more fair, a poor sick child receives the same care as a rich kid?
The politician tells this desperate mother, empower me to allocate society's health care resources and I will protect your child from the harshness of the law of supply and demand. In fact, I will repeal this law of supply and demand and pass a new law protecting your child, a law universal free health care.
And another woman says, what about my mother, she has Alzheimer's and is incontinent and there is no one to care for her apart from me? I see that rich women need not change their mothers' diapers and wipe gruel from their chins. "And neither will you" soothes the politician, "let us tax that rich woman and I will lift the burden of your mother from you, you need only concern yourself about her on visiting days."
And a third woman says, "my neighbor who has no preschool children to care for goes to work and accumulates wealth daily to provide for her old age while I must stay at home and care for my child." The politician consoles, "merely permit me to tax her wages and I will provide you with both Kindergeld, a monthly stipend just because you have a child, and with a pension when you become aged."
"That's fair," replies the woman. "You have only to call upon me when you see any other unfairness in your life and I will fix it for you," assures the politician before departing for Brussels, "you need never be afflicted with envy again."
Welcome to the wonderful world of Universal Health Care
He may have died or not improved even with the surgery. It should be looked at carefully but we should not leap to any conclusions without more information.
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