What do people drink that makes them write such utter turd filled nonsensical garbage as this monstrosity? The American rightwing, which has a long history of combating President Obama's vital healthcare reform with smears, lies and slander, is at it again.
The paper makes the laughable claim that the NHS is broken. Well, it might be if messers Cameron, Clegg and Lansley continue as they have been, but it is far from broken now. After 13 years of improvement under the last Government, the NHS works better than it ever has. It is slipping back thanks to Coalition recklessness and incompetence, but it isnt a structural failing of the service.
The article makes this claim based on 8,000 doctors moving from the UK since 2008, the paper even admits it's because of the weather, desire for better lifestyle etc (Note not for better pay) rather than because they hate the NHS. But what is hilarious is that the figure is 8,000. Over 4 years! 2,000 doctors a year out of the 250,000 registered, and 150,000 practising! Pathetic
Also can anyone clever tell me what has happened since 2008? What's been the big news? Recession- when large numbers of people tend to move away from a country. They also mention doctors leaving in the 1950's- those old fashioned doctors who refused to serve the NHS, a generation away from the current crop of doctors, who are committed to the NHS.
The article says "When a government declares that it will provide "free" health care, there is no escaping the fact that such a system will one day be overwhelmed by demand and the providers — the doctors and other professionals who are extensively and intensively trained — won't be able to keep up. They will be overworked, underpaid and frustrated with the difficulties in performing the task they feel called to, namely healing the sick." Where is the crystal ball that predicts this nonsense? In fact our healthcare is a PREVENTATIVE system- we save significant abouts of money because people go to their free doctors, early on in an illness, rather than waiting until they are crippled because it's expensive- as is the case in America. Also, our doctors frustrations are medical- how frustrating must it be for American doctors who have to treat patients to a prescribed budget of care per patient?
"We don't pretend to understand why, but the National Health Service is a source of pride in Britain. They cherish it as if it were a treasure, and defend it as if were worth protecting and not the rotted system that it is." that's because the author is an ignoramus, who has no actual understanding of the NHS, never been to an NHS hospital and never had treatment here.
Then there is the rudimentary quote from an unnamed doctor who left the UK in the 60s. So a perfect judge of the NHS of 2012.
What really gets my goat is that if the American right don't like poor people living, fine, that's fine, but why do they always resort to lying about the NHS?
Whether it was Sarah Palin and her crap about "Death Panels" deciding whether patients lived or died based on the cost of their treatment, or the lies about the performance of the NHS, the American right are, as always, wrong. They are people who chided the Democrats for criticism of the Iraq war as insulting their allies, then they write really offencive crap about our cherished institutions.
