NHS Truth

It's interesting to see some mild criticism of the NHS starting to appear, at long last too.

Here is the Telegraph's coverage of the recent report criticising standards of care.

I am instinctively opposed to state control because that means politicians being in control. I equally abhor the way there has been a metaphorical defensive wall erected around the NHS. Dare criticise, let alone advocate private healthcare, and in many quarters you are tantamount to a Holocaust denier or paedophile. Let's have the debate, but don't expect the Tories to be robust, they are just as bad as Labour or the Lib Dems in being scared to do what they really believe.

Take these three examples from my limited experience of the NHS. I have detailed elsewhere on this blog how my mother-in-law was so badly 'cared for' in hospital that she broke her hip while in there and they left it untreated for a week. She is now housebound.

A friend of mine was concerned at the treatment an elderly relative was receiving. Amongst other things she couldn't feed herself, so the staff just left plates of food, removed them untouched and entered 'Refusing Food' on her notes. She died in hospital. When he wanted to instigate a formal complaint her notes disappeared.

My father-in-law, on a hospital visit, lost his cap. Several days later he dropped something, bent down to pick it up and there was his cap, under the bed which obviously hadn't been cleaned for days. That was only two years ago when efforts had supposedly been made to sort out hospital infections.

I'm not saying that under a private sytem everything would be perfect, although I do believe it would be a huge improvement, what I do say is let's stop the Soviet style propoganda about the NHS and start being realistic.