As there is no real news in the UK the media have been having a feeding frenzy over the decision of a former historical enemy of the UK now a “partner” in Europe called the French to remove a certain type of breast implant. Already at the end of the week one of the team who was on call listened to a receptionist say as they put a call on hold “I have been waited for this one all week my first boob job panicker what do I tell them?”
The breast implant scare is a classic example of private versus NHS care. When people want something they initially try the NHS for it is free. Often genuine medical treatments are free and usually no problems. If something goes wrong usually the NHS will pick up the pieces in terms of medical care although not necessarily compensation. If they can’t get something then Mr or Mrs Disgusted go private and moan to their GPs about the NHS and their taxes.
The figures we hear are that only 5% of the defective implants were done on the NHS and these patients will be offered the relevant corrective treatment for free at least as far as the patient is concerned. The remaining 95% of punters are expected to go back to their private consultants.
The great thing about NHS care is that the private sector always has a bail out option. We would ask our fellow bloggers how many of you have not admitted a case from a private hospital where an NHS consultant treating a private patient had to admit their patient for bail out care when the operation went wrong or there were life threatening consequences?
Examples being haemorrhage, septicaemia, cardiac arrest and heart failure which the private hospital with no intensive care could not treat and it interfered with the consultant’s extra currciular activities.
At present there is always an NHS bail out facility. What will really p*ss off the private sector “I’ll pay for the cheaper option to increase profit” is that quality costs and that in theory their mistake should cost them dear. On this occasion it might cost them or their patients unless the private sector, some bits of which seem to be no longer in business, do the honourable thing. Patients won’t like that.
Mr Lansley in his naivety expects that the private sector will do the honourable thing and perform the corrective surgery for free. Question is, in the free market is honour a cost worth paying? Or will the private clinics who can’t be arsed to do anything that will cost them do the dump and run on the NHS thing?
Praise be to the Party for always providing the private sector with a rip cord. When it comes to private boob boos will the Party allow all those in the private sector who have fail to act honourably the opportunity to pull the NHS rip cord? Or as someone who flew in world war two without a prachute said to us many years ago if you don’t pull the string it don’t mean a thing.
NHS parachute or private crash and burn? Which do you think most NHS patients and private clinics will choose? And who will pay and who has profited?
