Even though Paul Krugman has told us that horror stories about government-run healthcare in Britain “are false,” we keep getting reports about substandard care and needless deaths (see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here).
Well, let’s add another chilling report to the list. Here’s some of what the UK-based Telegraph just reported.
Tens of thousands of patients with terminal illnesses are being placed on a “death pathway”, almost double the number just two years ago, a study published today shows.Health service guidance states that doctors should discuss with relations whether or not their loved one is placed on the scheme which allows medical staff to withdraw fluid and drugs in a patient’s final days. In many cases this is not happening, an audit has found. As many as 2,500 families were not told that their loved ones had been put on the so-called Liverpool Care Pathway, the study disclosed.In one hospital trust, doctors had conversations with fewer than half of families about the care of their loved one. In a quarter of hospital trusts, discussions were not held with one in three families.
Remind me not to get sick on my next trip to London.
But horror stories about government-run healthcare are not limited to the United Kingdom. Here’s part of a remarkable story from an English-language Swedish news agency.
A man from Nyköping in eastern Sweden has been denied a power wheelchair despite having had both of his legs amputated as the local health authority remained “uncertain if the impairment was permanent”. The man had his legs amputated after a long struggle with diabetes, but despite being unable get about, his application for a power wheelchair has been denied.
I realize I’m a typical guy, but the first thing that came to my mind after reading this story were a couple of funny bits from Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail – the “I got better” scene and the “just a flesh wound” scene.
In the real world, however, there’s nothing humorous about whether amputated legs are a “permanent” impairment.
Both of these stories show the downside of letting bureaucrats have power over health care.
Yes, these are terrible stories. But just like in the US system today, these people are free to pay more for better healthcare. The only difference is for those who can’t afford to pay more.
Do you also post stories about people losing their whole life’s savings or claiming bankruptcy due to our health care system? People being denied claims due to an unreported medication they took 10 years ago? There are lots and lots of horror stories in our system, even for those with insurance.
It is a tough problem to solve, and the US is not solving it very well either.
[…] via Dan Mitchell […]
Living here in the UK has been illuminating, to say the least. GPs (General Practicioners) work within an assigned area, a ‘catchment’. You cannot see a GP outside of your catchment area, so if there are only 1 or 2 in your area, and they suck, well, you are stuck. Now imagine the impact on the quality when your GP has you hostage as a client… not saying it’s ‘bad’ but it certainly isn’t very good in my experience. Without doubt here, also efforts are made to ration care in a variety of ways, as we’ve experienced. My wife never once saw a doctor during the pregnancy with our son, and even during childbirth we never saw an MD until she ran into problems. Midwives do most of the work here. I can’t say I was very impressed at all. The hospital here in our town, which is a mix of middle-income and affluent is pretty ratty to behold. As an American I ‘was’ shocked. These are superficial things, to be sure, but people in the US should get used to a much reduced quality of service if they want the government to manage it.
Dan,
Another health horror story. Here is part one:
http://libertybullhorn.com/2011/11/06/the-face-of-health-care-freedom/
And part two:
http://libertybullhorn.com/2011/11/30/the-face-of-health-care-freedom-part-ii/
/srl
Thanks Al.
We don’t “want” the government to manage it.
We don’t “want” the government to do a LOT of things.
They’re just doing it anyway.
So they gave Krugman a Nobel in economics and Yassir Arafat a Nobel for peace. Kind of tell you what the value and validity is of a Nobel nowadays.
Keep in mind though that the Economics prize is not a formal Nobel prize, and that the peace prize committee is filled with politicians. The science prizes are still pretty solid and well protected by the academic communities.
@Ben, You can pay for your care in the UK, but it’s all or nothing. You can’t elect to pay for one thing and have the rest taken care of. There was an example of a man who wanted to use a certain cancer drug that NICE denied him. He offered to pay for the drug itself out of his own pocket. NICE told him that he certainly could do that, but that if he did, he would then have to pay for ALL his health care out of his own pocket, not just the drug. In other words, you can’t pick and choose what you will pay for. There is no freedom. It’s all or nothing. You either go all under the government control, or you better be able to pay for every aspect of your care. Imagine your insurance company telling you that here. They may tell me that they won’t pay for something, but if I opt to pay for it instead, they won’t cut me off of all other services they would normally cover. British health care will.
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[…] More Great Moments in Government-Run Healthcare […]
[…] I guess this means that the media must be dominated by conservative liars, since we keep getting reports about substandard care and needless deaths (see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here). […]
[…] I guess this means that the media must be dominated by conservative liars, since we keep getting reports about substandard care and needless deaths (see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here). […]
[…] “false” stories, click here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here. Rate this:Share […]
[…] I guess the English newspapers are making up stories to denigrate their own nation. If you want to see more of these “false” stories, click here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here. […]
[…] If that’s the case, then the British press is filled with liars who deliberately make up horror stories about their nation’s healthcare system, as you can see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here. […]
[…] P.S. Other horror stories about the UK health system can be perused here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here. […]
[…] P.S. If you want more horror stories about government-run healthcare in the United Kingdom click here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here. […]
[…] P.S. If you want more horror stories about government-run healthcare in the United Kingdom click here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here. […]
[…] If you want more horror stories about government-run healthcare in the United Kingdom click here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here. […]
[…] P.S. If you want more horror stories about government-run healthcare in the United Kingdom click here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here. […]
Procedures performed in the Nazi concentration camps fall under the category of government run healthcare, do they not?
It is not as outlandish and absurd as it sounds.The procedures were being carried out by actual Doctors, acting in their capacity of medical practioners employed by the government, practicing in a government run facility.
Government “watch dog” policies oversaw their conduct, as government watch dog policies do today.
When you take away private industry healthcare, lowering the standard of quality to the bare minimum which affords you the option of rendering service to everyone, what do you expect?
Best care= highest cost. The worst care= “free”, government provided. And don’t underestimate the definition of “worst”…… It’s happened in the last century, in a “civilized” European country. It can happen again.
[…] P.S. If you want more horror stories about government-run healthcare in the United Kingdom click here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here. […]
[…] in the United Kingdom click here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and […]
[…] since I’ve already linked to scenes in another Monty Python movie, that gives you an idea of the type of humor I […]
[…] since I’ve already linked to scenes in another Monty Python movie, that gives you an idea of the type of humor I […]
[…] system (see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here) and I challenge you to read them without feeling some mix of anger, sadness, despair, and […]
[…] system (see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here) and I challenge you to read them without feeling some mix of anger, sadness, despair, and […]
[…] system (see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here) and I challenge you to read them without feeling some mix of anger, sadness, despair, and […]
[…] system (see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here) and I challenge you to read them without feeling some mix of anger, sadness, despair, and […]
[…] (see here, here, here, here, here,here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here) and I challenge you to read them without feeling some mix of anger, sadness, despair, and […]
[…] And another man with no legs was denied a motorized wheelchair because the government ruled that he didn’t necessarily have a permanent condition. […]
[…] since I’ve already linked to scenes in another Monty Python movie, that gives you an idea of the type of humor I […]
[…] And another man with no legs was denied a motorized wheelchair because the government ruled that he didn’t necessarily have a permanent condition. […]