National Health Death Service Kills Another War Hero
Well, the British National Health Service, touted as a role model for socialized medicine by the likes of Michael Moore, appears to be trying to do its bit to reduce health care costs in Britain. By killing off the old war veterans one by one.
The family of a distinguished war veteran have criticised the hospital where he was infected by a killer bug.
Major Sam Weller - who survived three years as a prisoner of war - died after catching Clostridium Difficile following an operation on his hip. His relatives said he had been let down by the country he fought for.
Major Weller, 88, had surgery at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital but he developed an infection and was given a course of antibiotics.
Weeks later he died and an inquest was told the medicine had left him more vulnerable to catching the superbug.
Yesterday, his family criticised the hospital treatment he received and standards of hygiene on the wards. His son Martin, 59, a council planning officer, said: "He was a wonderful man who served his country well. He didn't deserve to die like this.
"Gloucestershire Royal Hospital has an appalling record for C. Diff and here is another tragic case. My father died in a lot of pain."
Mr Weller criticised the hospital's record on "infection control" which he said had been visible to him and his family.
He refused to go into details, but said he felt "let down" by those responsible for his father's care.
The major's wife of 50 years, Berthe, added that her husband had considered the ward to be "noisy and grubby".
Dirty hands and dirty sheets spread the killer bacteria. Basic hygiene helps control it. This is not the first war hero killed by the NHS - by a long shot. There were 2,247 people killed in British hospitals by this particular bug in 2005. There were 56,000 people infected with it in the past year alone.
Still think socialized medicine is a great idea?
Medicine, World news | Gaius Saturday, 1 September , 2007
By Maggie, Saturday, 1 September , 2007 @ 5:03 pm
Commonly known to medical workers here in the states as the much dreaded C-Diff …
I wonder how many of the stated number infected were British health care workers?
By Bob, Sunday, 2 September , 2007 @ 12:07 am
Why is it impossible to have an honest conversation about health care with anyone who uses the term “socialized medicine” in a non-ironic way? While it is of course an unfortunate occurrence, for an 88 year-old man to acquire a hospital-borne infection following major surgery is certainly not all that uncommon, and wouldn’t necessarily be evidence of uncleanliness or malpractice. Americans in first-rate hospitals get infections too. Does that prove that our health care system sucks, too? As a medical journal article puts it,
If we are to try to improve our health care in this country–something I would hope that all political parties agree needs desperately to be done–we should be smart and honest about discussing medical issues. Clostridium difficile is not a partisan issue. We need to drop the ideological B.S. and just be smart and practical for a change. If any medical system can be made work work, and is fair and accessible to anyone who needs it, then who cares what the hell you call it?