tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23662827.post4074745566440054136..comments2024-01-13T23:00:20.853+00:00Comments on MAN THE BARRICADES: NHS Reality CheckGregghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10323165429887622931noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23662827.post-33373134538711042572012-08-08T06:30:20.944+01:002012-08-08T06:30:20.944+01:00How refreshing to hear commonsense responses rathe...How refreshing to hear commonsense responses rather than the pat glorification of the system.<br /><br />I like the idea of a cooperative system, must give that more thought.Gregghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10323165429887622931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23662827.post-85609251350478591242012-08-07T21:52:06.429+01:002012-08-07T21:52:06.429+01:00The NHS and the paralysis felt by anyone trying to...The NHS and the paralysis felt by anyone trying to improve it is probably the biggest single side effect of our Statist democratic system.<br /><br />First up, the 'poor, cash-starved NHS' is the single biggest employer in Europe and the third biggest globally. That's 1.7m turkeys you might be asking to vote for Xmas were you seeking election.<br /><br />Was it Keith Joseph who described the NHS as 'the closest thing Britain has to an organised religion?'.<br /><br />Of course he was right - people have been scared into believing that the only alternative is corpses piling up in the street, or outside hospitals having been refused for not having insurance.<br /><br />Then there are the unions who happen to hold a majority stake in one of the two major political parties. So the situation has either got worse or pretty much stayed the same, depening on who was in office at the time.<br /><br />Cushy numbers for the boys and no risk of lost income - hardly a recipe for consistently high service.<br /><br />The co-operative model has much going for it, but there is a world of difference between that and the NHS that we know, recognise and are repeatedly told to love despite the evidence of our own eyes and experiences.Daz Pearcehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07935407418226324575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23662827.post-35371199293629404362012-08-07T15:13:08.886+01:002012-08-07T15:13:08.886+01:00Thanks for your comment.Thanks for your comment.Gregghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10323165429887622931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23662827.post-19762360178572376112012-08-07T14:13:05.105+01:002012-08-07T14:13:05.105+01:00You're absolutely right; one of the main obsta...You're absolutely right; one of the main obstacles to objective assessment is the knee-jerk emotional blackmail any criticism of the NHS is likely to elicit.<br /><br />Just as anyone with the temerity to suggest public exams are getting easier is immediately accused of personally attacking all those hard-working 'young people' who have studied so diligently, criticism of the sacred NHS cow is deemed to be an insult to the dedicated professionals who struggle day and night to help the sick.<br /><br />It's hard to find a blogger who <i>hasn't</i> got a tale to tell of NHS inadequacy - the blame runs through the whole system up to and including consultants, but what frequently pins the whole thing together is the indifference fostered by administrators to whom the patient is, at best, an abstract concept and at worst a bureaucratic nuisance to be dealt with at leisure.<br /><br />These office staff have a stranglehold on the system; they will be the ones called on to enforce on redundancies or cutbacks and it's a fair bet they won't be putting themselves out of a job.Macheathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04451439759398780345noreply@blogger.com